A new King, new horrors
by Nomoreturningaway
Summary: A Neopets the Darkest Faerie story. It is one year after the defeat of the Dark One and the celebrations for the aniversary are starting. But then attacks begin and it is up to Tor and Roberta to get to the bottom of them. Rated T for blood and Violence
1. Chapter 1

So I recently played Neopets the Darkest Faerie. I don't know why, I just saw it sitting there and I remembered how much I loved that game. So I popped it in and realized that it didn't get enough credit because it was neopets. So here's a story inspired by it.

Also, most of the characters are the same ones from the game, but there will be a few that are my own.

I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie.

Chapter 1

Sir Tormund Ellis, Knight of first class, Defender of Meridell, and Hero of Neopia looked out across his family farm from his position on top of the barn roof. He could see his sister Lucy trying to capture the loose whinnies and he laughed to himself. His mother was tending to the garden and his father was fixing the water pump. Again. He sighed. It had been a good three weeks of visiting, but it was time for him to return to Meridell and his knightly duties. Of course it had been nearly a year since he last saw them in Faerieland after the defeat of the Dark One and a short visit such as this one didn't seem to be enough.

These thoughts began to lead to Roberta, the blue acara sorceress of Brightvale. It had been the same amount of time since he saw her. In the beginning it had been strange, not seeing her everyday like he had when they were on their journey. In fact, everything had been strange, from eating real meals three times a day to sleeping in a warm bed. There had been a few letters in the beginning, but it hadn't lasted long. She had important things to do just as he did.

"Hey Tor!" Lucy shouted. "Can I have some help!"

Tor looked down at his sister. "No, I think you've got it!" He laughed when she huffed angrily and went back to work. Apparently she hadn't figured out the secret of catching whinnies even after years of laughing while she watched him do it. Tor stood with a yawn and stretched. He climbed down the ladder and walked into the house. His belongings were already packed into his bottomless sack. A gift from Roberta before parting. It came in handy. He went into his room and opened the wardrobe. His Altadorian armor gleamed in the dim light that came through the window. On either side was his sword from King Altador himself, and his custom shield with the Altador and Meridell crests.

"I take it you're leaving then?"

Tor looked up at his father with an embarrassed smile. Of course he would be caught admiring himself in the mirror. "Yes, I've been away from my responsibilities for nearly a month now."

Hubert nodded. "I didn't expect you to stay much longer. Not when you've got a castle waiting for you."

Tor laughed. This was a joke between them. "I'd rather stay here at the farm any day. It's just my duties always getting in the way."

"Well, you might as well start you're goodbyes now. I have a feeling that it may take a while."

It was an hour before Tor finally left his farm, leaving his family behind once again. Hopefully it wouldn't be as long until the next time he saw them. He walked along the long farm road, thinking that he should have left earlier. At this rate it would be dark by the time he even got to the bridge and in the early morning when he got to Meridell. He would have to stop for the night somewhere along the way and risk the thieves. He could easily fight them off he knew, risking few injuries, but it would just be a bother. But he did have a Meerca Speed potion in his bag.

Digging through his bag, Tor found the large vial. There was enough of the potion for three uses. With it he could cut his journey in half, maybe even more. He uncorked the vial and drank a third of the potion. A warm feeling spread through his body and he felt his muscles began to tingle. Giving into the potion, Tor began to run. His speed was tripled, everything he passed turning into a blur. Wind tore through his fur and he had to squint his eyes.

In no time he was passing the lake he used to swim in when he still lived at home. It was here that the potion wore off and Tor took a moment to rest. He saw Farmer Tessa scolding her son, Luke and his friend Peter. Claire was hiding behind a rock laughing at them. Tor walked up to them, smiling.

"You two aren't giving everyone a hard time again are you?" he asked and they all looked up in surprise and awe. He ignored that part. He'd become accustomed to it, especially when wearing his armor. He knew he made a striking appearance in it. It wasn't every day that you saw Altadorian armor. Or the Savior of Neopia as he knew they saw him as. He didn't like that the neopets he grew up with saw him like that, but he knew it wasn't something that they could help.

"Are you returning to Meridell then Tor?" Farmer Tessa asked, recovering from her surprise.

"Mhm. Been away for far too long. The other knights are probably getting fed up with having to do all the squire work."

"Why do ya do squire work if yer a knight?" Luke asked.

Tor shrugged. "There aren't any squires at the moment. Besides, I like it. The squires are the ones who do all the traveling. The other knights may not like running around, but I would rather that than being stuck in the castle."

"Well you best be on your way then Tor," Farmer Tessa said. "But come and visit again soon."

Tor nodded. "I plan to. Tell Farmer Addison and Old Man Boggs that I said hello." With that Tor took out his Meerca Speed potion and drank half of what was left. The same sensation filled his body. He nodded once in farewell and began to run again. He waved to the other farmers as he passed them but didn't stop to talk. There was no time for it if he wanted to get to Meridell before night fell.

….

"Sir Tormund," Guardsman Wade murmured as Tor walked through the gates.

"Just Tor, Wade."

"Course."

Tor took in a deep breath and looked up at the sky. It was just beginning to get dark. He'd pushed the potion to its limits for the last stretch and he was really feeling it. He dragged his feet in the direction of the castle, greeting those he passed as he went. At the moment he didn't particularly care that knights were supposed to stand tall. He just wanted to get to his bed.

"Good to see you're finally back, Tor." Grayson said in greeting as Tor entered the dining area for a bite to eat before going to bed.

"Hey there Grayson. How are things around the castle?"

"tight. Many of the others are beginning to get fed up."

Tor nodded. "I'll get back to work tomorrow."

"I heard Angus over at the apothecary has been asking for you."

Tor grinned. He liked running errands for the old grarrl. It gave him a chance to get out and explore like he used to. "I'll head over there first thing in the morning."

"Alrighty. Get some rest first, you look ready to pass out where you sit."

Tor shook his head. "Has anything important happened while I've been away?"

"Well Cadmere has been trying to win the affections of Lady Anabel." Grayson laughed. "But that's nothing new."

"I said important," Tor laughed.

Grayson grinned. "Who said Cadmere trying and failing to win the affections of yet another woman isn't important. I mean, it's not his fault that she only seems to have eyes for a certain lupe knight. And I don't mean me tough I don't see how she can see past my dashing good looks."

Tor laughed. "So… Ebard then?" Tor asked jokingly. He knew that Lady Anabel had been eyeing him since he returned from his journey. But she only wanted the hero.

"Oh shut up. You know who I'm talking about." Grayson rolled his eyes and took a bite from his chocafish. "So in other news, there's a new guy in the arena who's moving up pretty quickly. He might even give you a run for your money."

"Oh yeah? Well I'm anticipating a good fight."

"It'd be a nice idea for a celebration of the one year anniversary."

One year. There would be a celebration in Brightvale in honor of it. There would be hundreds of neopets there for it, including him and his family. Only part of Tor was excited. The part of him that was still the farm boy, eager at getting to do something he hadn't done before. And then there was also the fact that he would get to see Roberta again.

….

Tor went straight to Angus' Apothecary the next morning, telling Master Torak that he would be running an errand for Angus and to take him off the job list until he got back. It was still strange knowing who the Man at Arms really was when nobody else but Roberta did.

"Morning Angus," Tor greeted the apothecary. "Heard you needed something done?"

"Tor! Good to see yeh back!"

"Good to be back, Angus. So, that job?"

Angus moved around the counter. "Ah, yes. I need a rather rare ingredient for this certain project I am working on." He picked up a large book and began flicking through the pages. "It will be tough to find if you manage to find it at all." Angus made a grunting noise and held out the book for Tor to take. There was a hand drawn sketch of a strange looking flower. The leaves were long and spikey. The flower had the look of a daffodil, but the petals were different. There were strange patters and Tor had to take a closer look. Music scales. In the drawing there were also music notes floating in the air.

"What's it called?" Tor asked.

"A harpflower. It emits a musical tone when night falls and the moon can be seen. It grows in beachy areas in the sand. The flower is a deep blue in color."

Tor was thinking hard. There was something very familiar about this flower and he was sure he'd heard its sad song once before. "I think I know where I might find this flower. It'll be at least a day and a half until I can get there."

"You're sure? As I said, this is a very rare flower. I didn't expect you to already have a location in mind."

"I've heard it before. On a small beach on the outskirts of Brightvale." Tor closed the book and gave it back to Angus. "I'll need a few supplies obviously. I've run out of Meerca Speed. Also something to keep off the hunger."

Angus was already gathering potions. Tor leaned against the counter and waited. "That'll be five hundred neopoints, Tor."

Tor nodded, remembering the days he would have passed out in shock at that amount of neopoints. He rummaged around in his bottomless sack and pulled out five bags of neopoints. Each bag contained a hundred neopoints. "Here you go Angus."

"Better watch yourself with that amount of money, Tor. Thieves are ruthless."

"I know that better than most, Angus," Tor said. "They may be ruthless, but they're also brainless. Well, save for a few that I've met in my travels. I'll be the first to admit that there've been a few who have managed to wound me."

"You may be the first to admit it, but only so that others stop thinking that you're some sort of god."

"True." Tor stowed his purchases in his sack and shouldered it. "I'll see you in a few days, Angus."

"Take care, Tor. I feel trouble brewing."

"All the fumes from those potions you cook must be going to your head Angus."

Tor walked out of the apothecary's and headed in the direction of the east gate. He met Sir Aldwin on his way, interrupting a conversation between the techno and a pretty Aisha who Tor didn't recognize. Which was odd because he knew everyone in Meridell. His fellow knight didn't seem to appreciate the interruption very much, but he agreed to tell Master Torak where he was going and wished him luck. Tor did the same to him, nodding at the Aisha in a discrete manner and winking.

"You should bring someone else, you know," Aldwin told him, looking serious for the moment. "You know that Torak doesn't like when we go out alone."

"You're just worried Torak will take it out on you."

"I am, but he's also right."

Tor sighed. "Fine. I'll be at the East Gate waiting. Go to Torak and have him send someone." He bowed to the Aisha. "Pleased to meet you, though I am sorry that we don't have the time to get better acquainted." Tor saw Aldwin roll his eyes and chuckled to himself before heading off again at a slower pace. If he was going to have to wait for someone to show up he didn't want it to have to be for too long.

"Hey Champ!" he heard a familiar voice call as he passed the battle arena. Tor walked over to the blue acara.

"Hey there Shanra. What's this I hear about a new competitor?"

"Ah, you heard about him eh? Kid's good." She gave him a sly grin. "He might even be good enough to beat you."

Tor raised his eyebrows. "You think so? I never knew you had such little faith in me."

Shanra shoved him to the side playfully. "So where are you headin off to now so soon after your return?"

"Out toward Brightvale for Angus."

"Off on some other quest for some rare flower then I see. You'd better get going."

"I have to wait for Torak to send someone to go with me. Which is completely ridiculous if you ask me."

"You would think that a knight of first class wouldn't need a babysitter."

Tor growled. "I don't need a babysitter."

"Whoa, simmer down there champ. I never said you did, and I'm sure that Master Torak doesn't think so either." Shanra told him. "He probably just wants others to get some experience out there like you did with Roberta."

Tor shrugged. "Maybe."

Shanra sighed. "Alright, you get going. You've wasted enough time here."

Tor laughed and dipped his head. "As you wish. Tell the new guy I can't wait to fight him."

…..

And there's chapter 1.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own neopets the darkest faerie.

Chapter 2

Tor rolled his eyes as he tried to block out the voice of his fellow knight, Sir Lawrence. The red Techno just wouldn't stop talking. Normally Tor wouldn't have minded, Lawrence was a good friend of his, but when Tor was traveling, he liked quietness. Just the sound of the outdoors. But no, he had to have a travelling companion. Things like this were stricter since the defeat of the darkest faerie.

It was day two of the journey. They'd camped for the night next to the lake past Illusen's glade. It had been amusing for Tor to watch Lawrence jump at every sound of the night as though he were a child rather than a seasoned knight. Now they were in the lands of Brightvale, getting closer to their destination, but it was still hours away.

"How did you do this everyday for all those months?" Lawrence asked suddenly, taking Tor by surprise.

He never spoke about his quest. Sure he told a few stories about the things he and Roberta had accomplished, but he never spoke of the bad things. How hard it was to keep going every day. He only spoke about how it was all worth it. Besides, nobody ever asked about the hardships. "It wasn't easy. But Roberta was there and it didn't take long for me to see that she was twice the fighter anyone I'd ever seen was. But we were always looking over our shoulders, always keeping an eye out for whatever was after us next. It wasn't easy."

Lawrence laughed. "I think that's the first time I've heard you speak of it like that."

"Nobody ever asked," Tor said simply. "Everyone would rather heard the great things, battles fought and won, things like that. But fighting wasn't the only thing that went on."

"So write a book."

"What?"

"Write a book. Include all of those things! Tell all of Neopia what it was like!"

Tor shook his head. "I'm not a writer."

"So? If you don't do it then there are two scenarios that will happen. Someone else will write about it, and not get all the facts right, or the entire thing will be forgotten, years and years from now when we have all been long gone."

"Maybe that's what I want."

"We both know that you don't. You grew up on a farm, dreaming to be more than a farm boy. Dreaming that you would make a difference. And you have. You saved Neopia. You want to be remembered."

Tor was silent. His fellow knight was right. He knew it.

…

"Almost there," Tor murmured. In the distance Tor could see the towers of Brightvale outlined against the darkening sky. "Another half mile at the most. We'll stay the night at the beach when we get there."

"Finally!"

They'd been walking for hours, no breaks. Lawrence was dragging his feet and breathing heavily. Tor was walking tall as always. His eyes were fixed on the towers in the distance. He hadn't even been this close to Brightvale since he'd left with Roberta for the last time before going to Meridell to continue defeat the darkest faerie. It had only been a quick stop at that, so she could say good-bye to her uncle in case of the worst.

Tor wished that Lawrence wasn't with him not for the first time. But this time it wasn't because he just wanted peace. If the other knight wasn't with him, Tor probably would have gone straight to Brightvale. He would have stopped to visit the friends he'd made in his time there. Maybe see if Matkin had any maps to sell, take his chance at the wheel or have a quick run through the obstacle course.

"You look like you're deep in thought."

Tor brought himself back to the present. "Yeah, you could say that."

"Did your thoughts have anything to do with a certain acara sorceress?" Lawrence asked with a sly grin and a small shove.

"Huh?" Tor said, ever the brilliant one. He thought, and thought, and thought. "Whoa, no! Roberta and I were friends! I haven't even seen her in nearly a year."

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Tor rolled his eyes. "Be quiet."

"Lady Anabel is gonna be jealous!"

"You know, I'm sure the your girl won't be too happy to hear about your flirting with Tina over at the pub."

The techno's eyes widened considerably and Tor couldn't help but laugh. "You wouldn't!"

"You don't know what I could do."

"Alright, alright, I'll stop. Jeeze, Tor. I'm just having a bit of fun. No need to tell Prunella anything unimportant."

There was then silence other than Tor's chuckles. Lawrence couldn't think of anything to say that wasn't about Tor's love life, or lack of one, and he didn't want to risk anything.

Darkness began to fall faster and Tor quickened his pace. He could hear creatures of the night begin to awaken and Lawrence began getting jumpy. He sighed every time he saw his fellow knight jump at some noise. Lawrence had grown up in the city of Meridell and was unused to these things. Even as a squire he spent most of his time inside of Meridell unless he was required to fight. This all was foreign to the techno. He probably hadn't even been in Shadowglen woods or even Bogshot Swamp. Only Illusen's Glen and he'd been captured by the werelupes.

Tor turned down a pathway and pushed aside the bushed that hid it. He heard Lawrence sigh before doing the same. Tor could hear the sound of waves and smiled. They were there. He began to job, his shield clanking against his armor. He jumped down the grassy ledges before his feet sank in the sand.

"What was that abo… Whoa." Lawrence had arrived, angry about the short run. Then he saw the ocean.

"Yeah," Tor agreed. "You set up the tent. I'll find the flower." He tossed his bottomless bag to the other knight and headed off along the beach, keeping his ear open for the sound of the sad music of the harpflower. It didn't take long before the sound reached his ears. It was a sad tune, coming from somewhere on his left. He followed the sound; eventually pausing when he reached the place he and Roberta met. Tor was surprised to find that he knew the exact place. It was just there, floating in his memories.

Tor found the Harpflower concealed in a patch of grass. Just a single flower and Tor felt a strange reluctance to pick it, to end the beautiful music. Before Tor could make a decision to not pick it, he plucked it from the sand. There was a screech before it fell silent again.

Lawrence had managed to get a fire going and the tent set up much faster than the night before. He was sitting cross-legged in the sand, holding a a wedge of a red juppie over the fire on a stick. Tor sat next to him and did the same, setting the flower a careful distance away from the fire. They sat in a comfortable silence.

Howling in the distance broke the silence. Tor looked toward the sound. It was coming from the direction of Werelupe Woods so it wasn't so strange he guessed. But they did sound pretty excited. Tor saw Lawrence shiver out of the corner of his eye.

"Must be a birthday party," he joked for his friend's sake. "Go sleep. I'll take first watch."

…

A/N: yes, short chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie.

Chapter 3:

Tor set the jar that contained the harpflower on the counter in Angus' shop. He'd sent Lawrence back to the castle to report in when they'd crossed the gates and in return he would pick up his payment for the job. The trip back had been fast, the two knights splitting a Meerca speed potion between the two of them. Tor felt unsettled by the howling they'd heard. In his time travelling he had not once heard something like that. The most howling he heard at once was during his fight with the werelupe king and the werelupes were cheering on their leader.

"Here you are Angus!" Tor greeting the old grarrl with forced enthusiasm. He just didn't have it in him at that moment to feel very upbeat. Too much to think about, though at the same time it didn't seem very important. Surely werelupes howled all of the time. That's just what they did. They were savage.

"You actually found one!" Angus gasped, taking the jar and holding it up to the light. "And it was picked at just the right time. It could have been picked at any time, but it looks as though you got it when the moon was at its highest."

Tor frowned. "What's the significance of that?"

"Its powers will be stronger. Better."

"Ah," Tor grunted in understanding. He watched the apothecary set down the jar and begin counting out neopoints. "Split it in half please," Tor added quickly. "Someone else went with me. He deserves some payment."

"Of course. Give him my thanks. The two of you saved me many many neopoints and a lot of time."

Tor smiled. "Any time Angus. You need anything else just call for me."

…..

The next day Tor and guardsman Yavik did their patrols near the east gate. It was a beautiful day, cloudless sky, the sun beating down offering just the right amount of heat. Children were playing in the streets; Tor even saw a few trying to sneak a peek at the fight going on in the arena. He would have like to watch himself, but he couldn't. Instead he listened with half an ear to Yavik's small talk and responded when necessary. They weren't the greatest of friends; in fact they barely knew one another other than names and ranks.

The gates game into sight. That's where they were to meet guardsmen Ulfric and Henkel for the next patrols and Yavik was to take their place at the gates and wait for someone else to join him. Rotations were tight these days. Tor squinted his eyes in an attempt to see the two guards. He saw nobody there and frowned. Normally during the rotations you stayed in sight of the next teams. As the came nearer to the gates a gentle wind blew into their faces. Yavik didn't seem bothered, but Tor inhaled deeply to taste the air. He stopped dead in his tracks.

"Werelupes," he whispered hoarsely. Yavik looked to him with wide eyes. "You go and sound the alarms. I'll go ahead."

"What? No, we should stay together. If you're right then you don't know how many there are. You could be killed!"

Tor shook his head impatiently. "I've handled them before. No time for that story now, but even if I am overwhelmed another of us won't make much of a difference! Now go!" he hissed. Without another word Tor set off toward the gates and Yavik raced back toward the castle. Luckily it was a straight shot from there and it wouldn't take long to come back with help. The closer Tor got the more he strained his ears for any sounds of battle. Nothing. Just gentle the sound of the breeze rustling through the leaves. He strained his eyes, even closer to the gates. And there it was. Blood. It was splashed across the ground off to the side.

"Tor!"

He whipped around and pressed a finger to his lips to quiet his fellow knights. Yavik had returned with whoever he could find, Grayson, Cadmere, Ignatius, Aldwin and Ebard. All looked ready for battle, but there weren't many of them and Tor had no way of knowing how many they would be up against. He looked around for any villagers, not wanting them to be caught in the fight. No innocent lived needed to be taken. But this was a relatively quiet part of Meridell and he saw nobody out in the streets.

"Quiet!" he hissed and pointed toward the blood. "They're waiting for us to come out unsuspecting of them. On the count of three, we charge. Got it?"

"Is that the best idea?" Grayson asked. He gripped his sword tight and his eyes flickered from Tor to the blood.

"You have any others?" Cadmere shot back. "We can't just sit here and wait for them!"

"Right," Ebard nodded in agreement. On three. One… two… three!"

They charged as one, swords held high. And the enemies were waiting. Just as Tor crossed through the gates two masses of fur jumped out at him. He slashed his sword viciously cutting straight through the skin. It wasn't immediately fatal, but the nasty creature howled and ran away into the woods. Tor didn't wait to see it run though, instead turning to the second one that he'd dodged at first. He slashed his sword again but the werelupe jumped out of the way and came at him from the side. It raised its massive paw to rake Tor with his claws but met Tor's shield instead. Tor thrust his shield forward and knocked the werelupe off balance before smashing it over the head with the side of his blade, crushing his skull.

"They're pushing through the gates!"

Tor looked over his shoulder and saw that more knights and guards had entered the fight. Thankfully they'd heard the commotion or somebody in the guard towers had seen what was going on. The werelupes were indeed beginning to push through the defensive line. Master Torak was there, swinging his sword, cutting down any werelupes that came near. Tor bounded through the fray to help him. He was knocked aside when a bone crashed into his side. He quickly regained his balance and raised his shield before the werelupe could get in another blow. There was the sound of the bone club on metal. That's when tor took his own shot, slicing his sword back and forth across its chest. The howls were cut off when it slumped to the ground.

The battle raged on. Tor did his best to defend the gates with Torak and Ignatius. He could see the fighting thinning out as the knights began to force the werelupes back. Many were being chased off into the forest and more began to follow. Tor heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the last one disappear. He glanced around to survey the damage. Bodies littered the ground, mostly werelupes, but Tor saw guardsmen Ulfric and Henkel. They must have been caught off guard and killed before they could raise the alarm or call for help. Not even a chance.

"Tor." He looked over to Master Torak, taking his eyes away from the sight of Cadmere who was wounded with several large gashed across the side of his face, helping a limping guard. "What exactly happened?"

"Yavik and I were on patrol, heading to meet Ulfric and Henkel at the guard post to relieve them. But something didn't seem right. I couldn't see either of them and that was unusual so I scented the air. All I could smell was the stench of werelupes. If Yavik and I were to go in alone we would both probably be goners so I sent him to fetch help while I checked everything out."

Torak nodded. "That was brave, but also foolish. But I don't see how there was much choice. You did well today Tor. Get back to the castle, have your wounds clean and get some rest. I will report back to King Skarl. I do not know of and reason behind this attack, but I can say that it is not normal. If there are going to be more attacks, which I expect there will be, we must all be ready. And with things as tight as they already are, a fear how things are going to turn out."

Tor nodded in agreement. He did not see any reason for the attack either, though it didn't seem to be just random. It seemed to have been well planned. And had he not noticed that something was amiss, he and Yavik would have walked straight into a trap. He shivered at the thought of something like this happening again. They were already down two fine men, stretched to the limits and not enough man power to go around. Without help soon things would start going further downhill.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Neopets the Darkest Faerie

Chapter 4:

Tor hauled himself out of his warm bed and stretched his stiff muscles. Everything felt sore from the battle the day before. Unsurprisingly. It hadn't taken long for one of the servants to patch up his few wounds, limited to a cut on his cheek, deep but not serious, and several bruised ribs. After that Tor had gone straight to his bed and slept through the rest of the day and the night. I had no clue what time it was, but he would have to guess about midday from the light filtering in through the glass window. Not to mention that all of the other beds were empty.

He equipped his armor again, which now needed to be shined and cleaned. He would have to take it to Inga. She was always happy to handle his Altadorian armor, it being so foreign to her. And everyone really. Tor walked out of the knight's quarters and down to the entrance hall of the castle to be given his orders for the day. Somebody should have woken him up earlier, but it was too late to complain now. He would have to track down Master Torak. At the bottom of the staircase Tor noticed Lady Prunella and Lady Anabel conversing in worried whispers. Tor followed their eyes to the crowd of knights outside of the open doors of the King's Throne room.

"What's going on?" he asked the two aishas urgently. They looked somewhat surprised by his sudden appearance.

"Apparently the werelupes have attacked Brightvale," Sir Rufus rumbled when Tor failed to get an answer. "Someone was sent to us for help, but King Skarl is refusing."

Tor gaped. Brightvale was under attack so soon after the Meridell attack? What was going on? And now King Skarl wasn't going to send them help. Tor shook his head and pushed his way to the front of the crowd, effectively scaring several servants out of the way. Not on purpose of course. He must've looked fairly angry though. Once at the front Tor saw a familiar yellow techno kneeling in front of the King in a respective gesture, though his voice was desperate.

"Please Your Majesty, you must aid us! Brightvale needs the help of Meridell!"

Tor glanced at the King. The skeith seemed to be getting annoyed, but Tor decided that he would have to risk it. He stepped forward and addressed the techno. "Johfrit, what's happening?" he asked, ignoring the shocked murmuring behind him. Johfrit spun around to face him.

"Sir Tormund! Brightvale has been attacked by werelupes! We are being massacred!"

"I told you, fool, that I do not have the knights to send out!" King Skarl roared, sending Tor an angry look. "We are shorthanded as it is and if the flea-bitten scoundrels were to attack here then we would be massacred!"

Tor looked around for help but nobody would even look him in the eyes. Johfrit sent him a pleading look and Tor fought an internal battle. Finally he stepped forward and kneeled in front of the king, bowing his head respectfully. "I apologize for speaking out of turn, Your Majesty, but I just cannot stand by while this happens. I request that you allow me to travel to Brightvale's aid. I will go alone if I must and if you do not allow me to go, then I shall leave even without permission." Tor held his breath then, and waited for a response.

"Go."

Tor hesitantly looked up. "I'm sorry?"

"Are you deaf? I said go. Take three others with you and go."

Tor blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected King Skarl to give in so easily. Tor bowed his head again. "Thank you." He stood up and looked to the group of knights. "Grayson, Ebard, Lawrence, are you willing to fight?"

"Ready." They all answered in unison.

"We'll take the unis." Tor looked to Johfrit. "I'm assuming that you came with Solarin?"

"Yes. How did you-"

"No time," Tor cut him off. He walked briskly out of the throne room. His three fellow knights followed quickly and Lawrence stopped to say a few quick words to Prunella. Anabel looked at Tor expectantly, but his just nodded slightly to her. They went out the doors to the courtyard and then to the stables. Taking the unis would be the fastest way to travel and from what Johfrit had said, there wouldn't be much time. Tor hopped on a uni and kicked its sides. "We're heading to Brightvale," he said. "Make haste."

…..

"What if we're too late?" Grayson asked as the walls of Brightvale came into view a short time later. Tor had been thinking of that possibility the entire flight, but he didn't like to think of the product of that scenario.

"Let's just hope that we aren't and they are still holding strong. You may think of them all as book lovers, but they are not weak."

Tor could now hear the sounds of battle and they weren't even at the city walls yet. He urged the uni to go even faster. "Come on!" he murmured. They all flew over the walls, over the head of several draik archers who were firing arrows into the fray. Tor was shocked at the sight of the werelupes. There had to be at least three times the number that attacked Meridell. Tor looked over his shoulder at his companions who all looked equally surprised. Tor told his uni to go into a dive and as it did so, Tor drew his sword. Several feet from the ground Tor jumped off and onto the back of a werelupe. He plunged his sword straight through the flesh. He jumped back off and kicked the limp body off of his blade.

"Tor!" Ebard shouted and Tor looked over. Ebard nodded to his right and Tor turned his head watching out of the corner of his eye as Ebard jumped back into the battle. Tor looked around for what had caught Ebard's attention. He saw flashing lights from somewhere in the fray, but his vision was blocked by werelupes and knights. With a loud battle cry, Tor began to fight his way through. He didn't know how many of the beasts he was able to cut down. Finally he burst through a ring of werelupes and into an open area where a blue acara was wildly firing spells from a wand. Tor watched as a werelupe began to sneak up on her from behind. She didn't notice. She was too intent on her ongoing battle with another. Tor let out another cry and bounded forward to cut off the bone wielding brute. There was a resounding clang when the bone struck his sword followed by a loud gasp.

"Pleasure to see you again, Roberta," Tor said over his shoulder. He held his sword steady while the werelupe tried to overpower him, metal and bone grinding against each other with a grating sound. The werelupe snarled at him. "Though I could do with different circumstances."

"I know exactly what you mean," Roberta agreed firing off another spell at a werelupe how dared step forward. Tor, with his back to hers, only heard a short yelp.

"Watch my back?"

"If you do the same."

Tor roughly pushed the werelupe back. While it was recovering, he swung his sword in a wide arc, slicing across its eyes. The howl was ear piercing. The werelupe brought its large paws up to his eyes and dropped the weapon. Another swing of the sword at the throat and it was dead.

The battle raged on. Tor didn't know how long he fought off any werelupes that came close to him, all the while watching for anyone in need of help and taking care that nobody could sneak up on Roberta while she did the same. It was a familiar thing for the two of them and they quickly fell into the pattern they'd kept during their traveling days. The fighting slowly thinned out and Tor began to tire. His movements were becoming sluggish. Roberta's spells were becoming weaker. Tor's normally light armor felt heavier than it should.

There was a loud howl and the werelupes suddenly stopped and looked up. Another howl and they began to retreat. A few of the knights began to give chase, but Tor called them, back. There was no point. He looked at Roberta with tired eyes and then around at the damage. Bodies were everywhere; werelupes, knights, and even a few innocents who had been caught by surprise.

"I don't understand," Roberta murmured. "Why would they do this?"

Tor shook his head. "Grayson, Ebard, Lawrence!" he called out to his knights. "Stay here and help sort out the bodies. I need to go and speak to King Hagan."

"Right."

Tor turned to Roberta and they began walking in the direction of the castle. "I don't understand either. Meridell was attacked yesterday, but not in these numbers. They surprised two of our guards and killed them, then waiting for another patrol to come along and find them."

"You weren't hurt too badly though, right?"

"No. Few cuts and bruising." He glanced at Roberta out of the corner of his eyes, looking at her own wounds. Nothing serious though. She mostly just looked tired. "I don't know what they could have gained by attacking us like this. They couldn't have thought they would win."

"Maybe they wanted to weaken us. Their numbers are far greater than ours and they can afford to continuously attack us. At least in their minds."

Tor nodded. It made sense, what she said. And it made him shiver. It wasn't easy to fight an enemy that didn't care about their own life. "Meridell is stretched to thin as it is. We have few knights and no squires. Every one of us doing what we can to help out, even down to sewer duties, but with this new threat, I don't know how we can handle it."

"I'm sure you'll pull through, Tor," Roberta said, nudging him with her shoulder and grinning. "Nothing ever seemed to stop you from pushing yourself past your limits. Even through my complaining."

"Right," Tor laughed. "The good old days."

Two guards immediately let Tor and Roberta enter the castle, bowing deeply to Roberta as they did. Tor saw her grimace as it happened and stifled a laugh. It wasn't hard, especially when the one closest to Tor thanked him for Meridell's help in the battle. Tor dipped his head in acknowledgment to the young draik guard you still had a frightened look about him. It was probably the first battle he'd ever seen, not being much older than Tor himself.

"Lady Roberta!" Tor couldn't help but chuckle when Roberta was swarmed by servants. "Come, you must have your wounds cleaned!" a yellow kau fretted.

Roberta attempted to wave her off. "I am fine Petunia. It can wait a little bit."

"No no, it cannot!"

Tor put a hand on Roberta's shoulder. "It's fine, I can speak to His Majesty on my own. You go and get your wounds checked. I know how it is; they'll never leave you alone until you give."

Roberta nodded and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, don't I know it? Well, I wish you luck."

Tor walked up to the large oak door leading to the King's Throne Room. They were closed, two draik guards standing tall in front of it. They both looked surprised to see him. Tor dipped his head respectfully and said, "Guardsmen Wallace, Kris. I wish to speak to King Hagan." They looked even more shocked that he remembered their names.

"Sir Tormund," The green draik, Kris, bowed his head. "His Majesty is currently speaking to someone. You will have to wait."

"Of course," Tor nodded. He stepped back a few feet to wait.

"Do you happen to know of many losses?" Wallace asked tentatively.

Tor thought back to the bodies he'd seen, and it pained him when he found that he recognized them all but one, a young grarrl squire it looked like. "Mostly werelupes, but there were some others. I know of five, two guards, a squire, and two civilians. Guardsmen Jack and Piero were two, then there was a red grarrl, the squire. I don't know who it was though. I don't recall seeing him." He looked at the sad faces of the guards, trying to judge how badly they were mourning the losses. "And the two civilians. One was Harry, and the other was Cynthia. I don't know whether you knew them or not."

"Cynthia?" Kris asked. "You're sure?"

"Positive."

The doors suddenly opened and the guards immediately stepped to the side and bowed to Sir Caradoc, the yellow grarrl knight. "Sir Tormund," Caradoc rumbled.

"Sir Caradoc." Tor responded courteously.

Caradoc walked away without another word. Tor didn't blame him. He had every right to act this way after a battle such as the one that had just taken place. Wallace walked into the throne room and stood before King Hagan who was sitting on his throne looking thoughtful. "My Lord, Sir Tormund of Meridell is here to speak."

"Yes, yes. Send him in."

Kris nodded his head to Tor and Tor walked into the large room. He heard the doors close behind him as he bowed. He stood up straight again. King Hagan was staring straight at him. "Four knights is what my brother sends to my aid? He thought that that would help us? Thirteen good Neopets were killed today!"

"I'm sorry Your Majesty. Meridell too was attacked. Yesterday. We couldn't risk sending out any more."

"Meridell was attacked?" King Hagan gasped. He shook his head. "This doesn't sound like the way werelupes have acted in the past."

"I know. We don't understand it either."

"Yes, well Brightvale thanks you for your help."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Tor said, knowing that it was a dismissal. "Some of our knights have been helping with the clean-up, but we will be returning to Meridell."

"Yes, send the message to my brother that we shall be looking into what the werelupes are up to."

"I'll do that."

"Journey safely, Sir Tormund."

The clean-up was still taking place, and Tor was satisfied to see that his fellow Meridell knights were helping as much as they could. Tor whistled and four unis came trotting over along with Ebard, Grayson, and Lawrence. "Time to go you guys."

"Already?" Grayson asked. "Shouldn't we stay and help out a while longer?"

"We shouldn't impose," Tor responded, though he really would have liked to stay a while longer. "They will want to mourn on their own." He glanced around, seeing Neopets slowly walking out of their houses and into the streets to survey the damage. Children were curiously looking around their parents to see what was happening, not completely understanding what had just taken place. A loud wail split the air and Tor watched a red kau hurry over to a small body lying on the ground. Little Cynthia's mother, Annie. Tor quickly looked away. Yes, he really would have preferred to stay. In the short time he'd spent at Brightvale, all of these Neopets had become friends.

"Did you think you were going to leave without saying Good-bye?" Tor jumped at the sound of Roberta's voice. He turned around and saw her grinning at him. "Glad to see that a year of living in a castle hasn't made you soft."

"You mean less paranoid, don't you."

"Exactly."

Tor grinned. "Be careful, Roberta."

"You too Tor. You were always a little rash."

"And you were always stubborn." Tor countered. He glanced over at Annie again and Roberta followed his eyes.

"Cynthia was one of the first. We were all caught off guard, and she always liked to wander off, looking for petpets."

"Yeah, I remember. She sent me on a quest for a noil when I first met her. In return I got a twelve leaf clover," Tor said with a smile. He shook his head sadly. "I'll see you at the celebration, right?"

"Absolutely. See you then, Tor." Roberta quickly hugged him and stepped back. Tor hopped onto the back of the uni. He looked around one more time.

"Give them all my regards, and that I regret we couldn't have gotten here sooner."

Roberta nodded and Tor gestured to his companions to take flight. They took a running start down the street before taking off into the air and leaving the scene of devastation behind. They flew over the city walls and all four looked down to scan the land for werelupes. Nothing.

"It seemed like you knew them all fairly well," Ebard said suddenly.

Tor looked over at the lupe knight and nodded. "I spent several days there doing research before Roberta and I really began our quest. Or rather, Roberta did most of the research and I just did whatever. I made some good friends there, many of which were lost in that battle."

"Is that why you felt the need to stand up to King Skarl like you did?" Grayson asked and Tor nodded again. "Well, that took guts to do that."

"I had to do what was right. When I saw Johfrit begging like that, I knew that they really needed help. And all we could do was send the four of us." Tor shook his head angrily. If this kept up, these attacks, what would happen after the next few. Would the two kingdoms just leave one another to fend for themselves?


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the darkest faerie.

Chapter 5:

Tor tugged a little at his collar. He hated wearing these fancy clothes, but it was only the biggest party of the year. The celebration of the One Year anniversary of the defeat of the Dark One. And he was the guest of honor. Tor looked to his right at the carriage that King Skarl was sitting in and the one behind it where his family was. Though he was an important guest, he was still a knight and therefore part of the King's small escort. The other knights in the escort no doubt felt honored and excited to be going. Tor would have preferred to stay in Meridell and celebrate there.

Tor guided his uni forward as the rotation shifted and he took Aldwin's place at the front. He heard a rustling in the bushes and put a hand to the sword at his side. A dogglefox jumped out of the bushes and ran across the road in front of him. Tor shook his head. The recent attacks had made him and everyone else uneasy.

The sun had begun to fall by the time they'd reached the gates. Perfect timing. They'd been traveling since dawn that morning and Tor just wanted to sit. The gates were drawn open and they rode into the city. Everything was decorated splendidly with bright colors, lantern hung over their heads going from one building to the next. Different tables were set up and various places where separate parties would be held for the 'less important' Neopets. Different bands played all over and music filled the air. Tor heard Lucy squeal with delight from the back carriage and he smiled. He was happy they'd been able to come along.

"Tor!"

He quickly helped Lucy down from the carriage and turned around. Roberta was running toward him, looking smart in her green robes with golden trim, her wand hanging loosely at her side. "Roberta! Good to see you again." Tor greeted her as she came to a halt in front of him. She reached up and gave him a quick hug which he returned.

"Strange to see you so dressed up, I must admit. But you look nice. Classy."

Tor smiled. "Well I hate it. Now I understand why Nobles are always so aggravated."

Roberta rolled her eyes and patted his shoulder with mock sympathy. "Just get through the night, Tor. Now come on and see some of your old friends. A lot of Neopets have been waiting to see you again."

"My family," Tor began to protest. He couldn't really just leave them there. Meridell had been so foreign to them and Brightvale was even bigger.

"Are fine. Look." Roberta nodded her head over to where Lucy was already playing with some other young Neopets. Tor looked for his parents to see his mother talking with Marion from the food store. His father was excitedly explaining something to the Potion Master, Gerwuld who seemed to be very interested in whatever he was saying. Yeah, they were doing fine. "Tor, it's a party, and you're a guest. No knightly things tonight. Now come on."

They went from gathering to gathering so that Tor could greet all of his old friends again. He met Velhar again at the Wheel of Chance and Tor played a couple rounds. His luck seemed to be at his best that night and he just couldn't lose. Cheers went up through the air every time he won and the atmosphere was contagious. Nothing could take away Tor's smile.

"So this is what you're like when the world isn't at stake," Roberta commented as they walked back to the 'rich peoples' celebration. Couldn't be late to their own party. "It's different. In a good way. Something I didn't get to see very much."

Tor shrugged. "There was never much time. Only after the clouds had been driven away from each town and we had such a tight schedule."

The conversation ended abruptly when Lucy crashed into Tor's legs and hugged them. He wobbled slightly before catching his balance again. "This is so amazing Tor! Thank you so much for letting me come!"

Tor bent down and picked her up. "Of course I would take you! Why wouldn't I let my annoying sister come? It's because of you we're here right now!"

Lucy's eyes widened dramatically and Tor and Roberta laughed. "What did I do?"

Tor placed Lucy on his shoulders and they continued to walk. "Well, you helped me to become a knight when I saved your jealous butt from Shadowglen Woods."

"Really?"

"That's right," Tor nodded, grinning over at Roberta that Lucy didn't catch when he called her jealous of him. "So you basically saved the world Lucy."

"I'm sure that Roberta could have done it on her own," Lucy said in a suddenly serious voice. "I'll bet you weren't much of a help, Tor. You're too dumb."

Roberta burst out laughing while Tor gaped. Did he just hear that right? Judging from how hard Roberta was laughing he did. "I am not dumb!"

"Yeah huh! Mom said that all boys were dumb!" At this Roberta began to laugh even harder.

"Well she got you there Tor. And Lucy, I'm glad to know that you have so much faith in me, but Tor was more help than you think. While I did all the important things such as thinking, he kept watch for any baddies who might jump out at us."

Tor pushed Roberta to the side good-naturedly, but he frowned convincingly at her. "Not helping, Roberta. I'll never live this down, thank you very much."

Roberta smiled. "I've got your back, Tor. You know that."

"Obviously."

The three had only been back at their tent for a few moments before the dinner started. They all took their assigned seats, although Tor didn't very much like his. He was to the right of King Skarl who sat at one end of the long table while King Hagan was at the other, as was Roberta. Tor found it extremely hard to look away from King Skarl as he ate. Apparently the skeith did not care that he was in public at an important affair such as this. He still ate like he hadn't eaten in days, sending bit of food flying everywhere, some of it even landing on Tor's plate. Not to mention all the noises he made while he ate. Tor caught Lucy staring several times and he had to constantly nudge her under the table to remind her to look away. Tor could have done without dinner.

After everyone had finished eating, King Hagan made a long speech that droned on and on about Brightvale's role in all that happened and how proud he was of his niece. Tor just tuned it out. He didn't really care. And then he heard Roberta talking and he looked up again. "I was in Faerieland when the Darkest Faerie arose to power and I barely escaped with my life. Everyone's minds had been warped and I was alone for the first time, protected by this amulet." Roberta held up the amulet that hung around her neck and Tor touched his own. He never took it off. "After falling from the floating city, I met another who was not touched by the clouds, protected by his own amulet. Sir Tormund Ellis, Knight of Meridell." All heads turned to Tor and Roberta motioned for him to stand up, so he did. "Tor and I traveled for months, our quest to defeat the Darkest Faerie, something so unimaginable for the both of us. Tor, would you like to speak?"

No, no he wouldn't like to speak. But he pretty much had to. It was what everyone expected him to do, and they were all waiting for it. "I grew up all my life, a simple farm boy. No expectations. I thought that's what I would be doing my entire life. And then I got my chance to become a knight, and I took it without a second thought. This was my opportunity to finally do something and possibly be great. Not long after I finally became a real knight, bad things began happening. The darkest faerie took over Meridell soon after Illusen had been defeated. I managed to escape from the castle and I met Roberta." Tor shook his head. "I have never been so scared in my life as I was that entire journey, but I can't say that good things didn't come out of it. Other than saving the world, I made countless friends, many of which I see here now."

The feast couldn't end soon enough after that. Then Tor left his seat to sit next to Roberta. "That was terrible," he mumbled.

"Oh, you did great!" Roberta said encouragingly.

"Doesn't mean I liked doing it. Besides, you didn't have to sit next to King Skarl," Tor added in a whisper to ensure that nobody heard.

Roberta giggled behind her hand. "You shouldn't speak badly of your king you know."

"Oh? I heard you do it hundreds of times."

"That's different. He's my uncle."

Tor nodded slowly and looked around. Neopets were now dancing everywhere to the music. He could see different gatherings that had meshed together to create one big one. Sir Luthor was dancing with Lilly. Grayson was dancing with Lady Margo. His parents were dancing together. Lucy was once again playing with others and they were trying to copy the movements. Tor looked at Roberta. "Would you like to dance?"

"I would love to."

Tor stood up and held out his hand to Roberta. "I'll warn you now; I'm not much of a dancer."

"I'm sure you'll manage."

They went to the edge of the crowd where there was less Neopets. Tor bowed deeply and Roberta curtsied. Tor stood straight again and raised his right hand and placed it to Roberta's so that their palms were flat against each other in the space between them. Just as they began to move, screaming began. Tor drew his sword and looked wildly around. The lanterns gave off very little light, but Tor could see large bodies moving quickly through the crowd. Chaos ensued. Neopets ran in every different direction trying to get away from the attackers. Tor sent Roberta a panicked glance.

"Tor, find your family! We'll split up and look!"

Tor nodded and ran off. When he passed a terrified civilian he ordered them to get inside to safety. He didn't know if in there terror they even understood what he said over the pandemonium, but he couldn't stop and check. He had to find his family and get the werelupes out of the city. But he didn't know which he should do first. It didn't take long to come to a decision as he soon found Cadmere struggling on his own against three werelupes. Tor jumped to his friend's aid and fought the creatures back with him.

"Thanks!" Cadmere gasped.

Tor nodded. "Find King Skarl and help protect him. Get him to the castle and help any others you find on the way."

"Where are you going?"

"I need to find my family! Go now, Cadmere, and good luck!"

Cadmere grabbed Tor's hand and shook it. "And to you."

Tor fought and fought. His family was nowhere in sight and he began to panic. He didn't think that he would be able to handle it if the werelupes got to them before he did. He'd brought them here. Tor effortlessly cut down another werelupe with a furious howl. He could already see that the fight was beginning to thin out. Somebody tapped him on the shoulder and Tor spun around, sword ready. Roberta didn't even flinch, although his parents did. Hubert even raised the bone club that he was holding slightly higher. Relief filled Tor's body.

"I'm taking them to the castle," Roberta told him quickly. "But Tor—"

"Where Lucy?" Tor asked, realizing that his sister wasn't there. The relief quickly faded away when that came to light. He grabbed Roberta's shoulder. "Where is she?"

"I don't know, Tor!"

"We were separated!" his mother whimpered. "Tor, please find her!"

"I will," Tor promised. He released Roberta's shoulder. "Thank you. Keep an eye out for Lucy and take care of them."

Roberta nodded and quickly hugged Tor. "Be careful. This shouldn't last much longer, but I'll be back."

"TOR!"

He whipped around at the sound of Lucy's voice. The werelupes were retreating. How long had the fight lasted? It seemed like forever. But where was Lucy? He heard his name again and his eyes darted around. Then he saw her, looking over the shoulder of the werelupe that was holding her. Her arm was stretched out to him as she screamed his name. Tor began to chase after them, the sound of others on his heels. But she began to get farther and farther away. He couldn't keep up!

A dark purple cloud suddenly blocked his path and tor scrambled backward. Purple clouds. He shivered at the sight. "No," he whispered. "NO! LUCY!"

"Enough of your shouts little lupe. Your sister is gone." A chilling voice sounded out from the cloud. Tor took another step back as a dark cloaked figure emerged. There was the gleam of a long rapier at the newcomer's side, red jewels decorating the hilt. "I warned you that I would never underestimate you again."

"You," Tor whispered hoarsely at the gray gelert. The assassin drew is sword. "How..?"

The assassin chuckled coldly. "Did you think you killed me? Foolish boy!"

Knights slowly began to advance but Tor threw out his arms. "Stop! Don't come any closer!" he looked back at the assassin. "So you're the one who's been leading the werelupes."

"Of course. Such stupid creatures, but they have great strength and even greater numbers."

Tor growled. "What is your goal?"

The assassin began to laugh. "I will do what that foolish faerie could not! I will rule this pitiful world!"

"And you think I'm going to let you?"

"You cannot stop me."

The gelert darted forward and Tor jumped to the side, swinging his sword. It only met purple smoke. Tor dived forward on instinct and he heard the swish of a blade just inches from where he'd been. Immediately he was on the defensive, blocking every attack that came his way, blocking out the taunts shot at him, tracking every time the assassin teleported in a cloud of purple smoke. Tor kicked his opponent in the shin and slashed his sword cutting the assassin deep across his arm. Tor swung again but met the other sword with a loud clang on metal on metal. Tor used all of his strength to try and forced the gelert back, but then he saw the raw energy forming in his gray hand. Tor jumped back just in time and ducked when the orb was fired at him. It grazed the tip of his left ear.

"You'll have to do better than that!"

Tor was panting heavily but he shouted defiantly, "Coward! Only a coward would attack when his opponent has been weakened!" Indeed, Tor was feeling tired and weaker than he did when the werelupes first attacked. He'd been injured and was bleeding from several different wounds.

"You think you are in a position to call me a coward?" The gelert chuckled. "Look below you little lupe, and tell me then that I am a coward." Tor looked down at his feet. Vines were growing out of the road and beginning to curl around his feet. Tor tried to move away, but the vines suddenly tightened around his ankles and he couldn't even move. The assassin appeared in front of him shrouded in purple smoke. He put his left hand on Tor's smile while his right tightened around the jeweled hilt of his sword. He gave Tor a cold smile. "Say goodnight, Tormund Ellis."

Tor felt a flash of pain in his abdomen and he gasped. He looked down to see the blade disappear into his belly up to the hilt. The assassin chuckled darkly and slowly withdrew the sword causing as much pain as he could. The creeping plants turned black and shriveled up until there was only dust that blew away in the breeze. Tor stumbled back and dropped his sword. It suddenly felt too heavy to hold. Tor tripped and fell onto his bottom. He brought a hand to the wound and it was immediately covered in his blood.

The assassin brought the tip of his sword to Tor's throat. He began to laugh as he brought the sword back to strike again. Tor was still in too much shock to react. But then, just before the tip of the blade reached Tor, he was surrounded by a green dome which the metal bounced off of harmlessly. The assassin frowned in confusion and anger for a moment before looking to the source of the shield. Roberta stood defiantly on the edge of the crowd, wand raised. "Oh yes, I'd forgotten about you."

"How flattering," Roberta said sarcastically. "Now leave."

"Do you think you can defeat me? You think that you're stronger than me?"

"No, but I can try." Roberta fired the first spell, which was expected and easily deflected. But the second spell didn't come from Roberta or the assassin. It crashed into the assassin's back, and he roared with pain. Roberta took her chance and ran to Tor's side.

"Seradar!" The assassin snarled, whirling to face the aged wizard. His sword began to glow as he poured magic into it.

"Not so fast, Assassin. You have done enough damage here and you are outnumbered."

The assassin growled, realizing that Seradar was right. "This isn't over!" And then he was gone, leaving purple smoke where he'd been standing.

Roberta tried to stop the bleeding with her hands. She hadn't yet learned any healing spells and even the strongest wouldn't be enough for this wound. "Come on Tor!" Roberta muttered. "It's just a scratch!"

"I think it's a bit more than that, Roberta," Tor said with a pained groan. "But I'll be fine." His eyes began to close. "Just do me one favor. Find Lucy."

…


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the darkest Faerie

Chapter 6:

His eyelids felt too heavy to open them, but Tor could hear somebody in the room with him, wherever they were. He could hear them shifting around, pacing, breathing. Nobody ever spoke though, and as far as Tor could tell, it was always the same person every time he managed to bring himself into consciousness, though it was never for very long. This time Tor forced his eyes to open, blinking against the light that attacked them ruthlessly. Tor tried to sit up and ignore the pain, but a hand on his chest forced him to lie down again.

"Don't move just yet."

"Roberta?" Tor asked, looking up at the blue acara. Yeah, that was Roberta. "Where am I?"

"Meridell castle. You've been out for three days now, Tor. You gave me quite the scare."

Memories of the battle came flooding back all at once. Seeing Lucy being carried away by werelupes, chasing after her, the sudden appearance of the dark murderer, and being stabbed. He closed his eyes. "Did you find her?"

"Tor… I'm so sorry. We couldn't get past the skull. You know it won't open for us and I tried to get Sophie to make us another necklace but she was acting strange and—"

Tor cut her off. "You're rambling, Roberta. All you needed to say was no." He sat up again and brushed Roberta's hand aside. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, wobbling a little and feeling lightheaded. Roberta stood too and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Tor, please. You haven't healed yet! Just lie down a while longer and another patrol will be sent out tomorrow and you can go then, but for now you need to rest!"

"My sister is being held prisoner right now, all alone and scared. You can't expect me to do nothing!" Tor snapped angrily. He walked out of the room to go back to the knights' quarters where he expected his armor to be. Roberta followed him.

"That's not what I expect you to do at all! You know that! But I would expect you to be smarter than this! You were stabbed three days ago and you haven't healed yet! You can't keep pushing yourself like this, or you'll get yourself killed!"

Their shouting match was beginning to attract attention. Doors began to crack open as Neopets began to poke their heads through and eavesdrop. Tor turned around and glared at Roberta. "You worry too much!"

Roberta put her hands on her hips. "You don't worry enough! What if the assassin is there? Do you really think that you could take him on in this state? You can barely walk, Tor!"

Tor shook his head, turned, and began to walk again. He passed Sir Rufus and stopped. "Rufus, tell Master Torak that I need a patrol ready to go to Werelupe Woods."

The green grarrl frowned. "The skull is impossible to get through though. And are you sure you should even be out of bed just yet?"

"No, he shouldn't," Roberta cut in. "But he insists that he gets hurt even more."

"I am fine!" Tor snapped at her. "I'm going to get my sister. Rufus, please tell Master Torak that I have a way to get by the skull."

Roberta followed Tor's fast pace until she bumped into a servant, sending her cleaning supplies ever. Her nature forced her to stop and help clean everything up, despite the protests that she was a guest in the castle, while Tor carried on. He went straight for the Knights' Quarters and put on his armor in record timing before Roberta could come and stop him which she was apparently so set out to do. Someone had cleaned his sword for him and had it resting on his bunk. Tor picked up the gift from King Altador and inspected it. Not a single dent. The most reliable sword he'd ever known. Tor sheathed his sword and opened his trunk.

Roberta then burst through the door and quickly strode over to Tor who tried his best to ignore her. She sat on the edge of his bed and sighed. "Tor, I get that you need to do this, I'm not going to try and stop you anymore. But please, talk to your parents before you leave."

Tor looked up. He hadn't even started going through the mess that was his trunk, choosing to wait for her to speak first. "They're here?"

"Yes. Get ready and then I'll take you to them. But Tor…"

"What's wrong?"

Roberta sighed again and put a hand on Tor's shoulder. "Your mother is very broken up about this whole thing. I've been to see them a few times a day. Your dad is trying to get her to eat, but she won't. I've been trying too. Seeing you up and ready might help her a bit."

Tor nodded. "I'll… I'll talk to them then." He moved around items in his trunk until he found a small wooden box that had somehow gotten wrapped up in an old ragged shirt. Tor opened it and took out the werelupe tooth necklace which was the key to getting by the skull. He draped it around his neck, closed his trunk and stood up. "I'm ready," he said, holding out a hand and helping Roberta up.

Roberta led Tor to the guest room where his parents would be. They were silent; Tor thinking very hard about what he might see when they got there. He was nervous to see how his mother was going to react, if she reacted at all. From what Roberta said, Tor wasn't sure that he would get as much as a greeting from her. Roberta stopped outside the door and Tor looked over his shoulder at her. He'd been expecting her to come in with him.

"This is a private moment for you and your family," Roberta explained immediately. "I'll go and see about that patrol."

"Alright," Tor agreed. Roberta left and Tor watched her walk down the hall a little way before easing open the door and sliding in. The room was dimly lit and the shades were pulled shut, but it was like every other room in the castle. Elegantly decorated with blue, red, and gold, and the most expensive furniture, it looked like a room for a noble family, not poor farmers. Hubert was sitting at a desk, writing down something on a piece of parchment. Probably designs for some new inventions. Tor guessed that his mother was in the bed which had curtains drawn shut.

"Hey dad," Tor whispered.

Hubert looked around at his son. "Tor!" He exclaimed, quickly standing and sweeping Tor into a large hug. "How do you feel?"

"I've been better. I'm going to get Lucy soon. There's a patrol getting ready now."

"I heard that they couldn't get in."

Tor lifted the werelupe tooth necklace. "Well I've got the key."

"You don't have to go Tor. You're still in pain."

Tor shook his head. "I have to do this. I failed once already. It's not going to happen again." Tor spoke with such conviction, it was hard to not believe that it was the truth. Tor glanced over to the bed. "How is mom?"

Hubert now shook his head slowly and sadly. He gestured for Tor to follow him and they went around to the other side of the bed. Hubert opened the drapes and gently shook his wife shoulder. She immediately opened her eyes and it hurt Tor to see the sadness and pain in her eyes. "Patricia, Tor is here."

Her eyes flickered over to Tor as he kneeled down next to the bed. "Hi mom. I can't stay long. Just wanted to come and tell you that I'm alright." Tor leaned forward a little and took her hand in his armored one. "I promise you, that I am going to find Lucy and bring her home. No werelupe and no assassin will stop me for a second time."

….

Tor glanced over at Roberta riding Solarin. Soon they would be entering werelupe woods. She, along with everyone else, looked very determined. Tor felt that same determination. He was going to save his sister, not just some neopet that he didn't know. He would die if he had to, just to save Lucy. He just hoped that it didn't need to come to that."

"Hey Tor," Grayson shouted over the sound of hoof beats. "What if the gray gelert guy is there? He's the leader, right?"

Tor had been thinking about that himself. "Yeah, he is. But when we go in there, we aren't storming the place. There are different levels and many different pathways. We'll sneak in, split up and pick off werelupes as we go. I know it's not the way were normally fight, but that's the way we do this."

"What… pick them off while they're sleeping?" Ignatius asked. "There's no honor in that!"

"Would you rather us be massacred when every werelupe in that place comes out to kill us?" Tor snapped. He looked at Master Torak who had named him the leader of this particular mission. "Sir, I have been through this before. You can't just go in there and give your battle cry. It won't work. The groups of werelupes that have been attacking, they are just a small fraction of what there really is. We would never win. We'd be dead before we got halfway through the first level."

"So what do you propose we do?" Torak asked.

"Like I said, we split up into two groups. One with me, the other with Roberta. She knows the way. There are a lot of different pathways that twist you around or just lead to dead ends, so you have to make sure that you stick with your group. The main passages are each marked with a skull, so if you do get lost, that's where you go. The main passages lead to lower levels. They keep prisoners at the bottom level. We just have to get there."

….

The group entered a large cavern, leaving the outside darkness and entering an even greater darkness. The unis began to get restless and Tor couldn't get his to move forward. He could just make out Roberta jump off her uni and draw her wand which cast a small amount of light around them and showed the cliffs that Tor knew were there. He climbed off of his uni which obviously was not about to move.

"This happened last time too," Roberta said to Tor. "We had to climb."

Tor looked up at the rocky cliffs, remembering the last time he'd had to climb up them. There had been ladders at that time, though Tor didn't see any now. He sighed. "Guess we'd better get started then." Tor ran at the first small ledge that was several feet over his head. He jumped as high as he could and planted his right foot on the stone. He used the momentum he gained to push himself higher and grabbed the ledge. Tor hauled his body over the edge with a grunt and stood up to wait for the others to climb. Months of doing that very same thing had made him and Roberta expert climbers, but it wasn't the same for the others. In Tor's opinion, it could have gone much smoother had it just been him and Roberta.

"Oh thank the lord!" Grayson exclaimed when all of the knights had gotten to the top of the cliffs. Tor shook his head and walked through the mouth of the cavern and into the swamp. It was dark, very little light coming from the shack on the hill that sat in the middle of the water. That was where Sophie resided. Tor didn't plan on stopping by for a visit. He turned in the direction where the werelupe caves would be and set off. He kept his eyes open for crokabeks, slorgs, or any other monster that might try and attack them. He expected to see a few werelupes roaming around, hunting or guarding the lair, but he saw nothing, not even outside the skull.

"Roberta, do you find it strange that we haven't seen a single werelupe?" he asked quietly, staring at the massive skull across the clearing.

Roberta nodded slowly. "I didn't see any last time either. I thought that maybe we'd caught them on a shift change or maybe there was some kind of meeting. But the chances of that happening twice, not very likely at all." She walked forward and stood in front of the skull. "What do you think?"

Tor glanced around at the knights waiting for him to make a decision. He grabbed the necklace of teeth around his neck and held it up to look at it. Things weren't looking good already. There were no werelupes in Werelupe Woods that he could see. There was no sound of howling or the sound of one making a kill. Nothing to show that they were there. "I say we go in there and look around. Stick with the original plan." There were sound of agreement and Tor walked forward. With each step the mouth began to open. Tor led the way into the lair and through the tunnel. He could hear the hissing of the spyders, angry at the trespassers but not daring to come out.

"Are those poisonous?" Lawrence asked warily. Tor looked up at the ceiling where spyders were crawling around, hissing. He could see the green markings on their backs that showed they were indeed poisonous.

"Just ignore them. I've got the antidote just in case, but don't do anything that will cause me to have to use it. It's expensive."

They came to where the tunnels split into two directions around a wide, empty cavern. Tor remembered seeing it filled with werelupes, but now he saw none. Just bones and stone. Tor's heart felt even heavier. He turned to the group and saw Roberta's understanding look. They weren't going to find Lucy. "Grayson, Aldwin and Ignatius, you three go with Roberta. Go right." He gestured to Ebard, Lawrence and Master Torak. "You three come with me."

"See you at the bottom," Roberta said. "Be careful."

"Yeah, I'm not the one who got caught in a trap!" Tor grinned at her. Roberta scowled at him and set off down the path with the three knights following her. Tor went down the other path and indicated for the others to follow him. Tor sheathed his sword, knowing that he wouldn't be using it at all. Tor turned through an opening with a skull hanging over it and it took the into another sort of room with three other tunnels. One was marked with a skull. "See, very straightforward."

"Where do the other tunnels lead?" Lawrence asked.

"Some take you around in a circle, some to other smaller dens. I've found treasure in some too," Tor explained as he walked. The ground began to slope gradually downward. After several twists and turns the knights stepped out onto a small ledge where the only thing separating them from the other side was a rickety rope bridge. Several of the planks were missing and others looked rotted. "Alright, one at a time. I'll go first." Tor stepped onto the bridge and the wood creaked. Rather than spend any more time than he needed to on that death trap, Tor walked across as quickly as he could. "Come on over!" he called from the other side.

Master Torak went next and after that Lawrence. Ebard looked like he would rather stay by himself on the other side, but he too began to cross, not about to be outdone by his comrades. "How does this thing even hold werelupes?" he called out as the bridge swayed beneath him. Tor gritted his teeth and willed the lupe to hurry up before the bridge broke. Suddenly the board that Ebard was stepping on snapped. Ebard yelped and jumped forward causing that board to break also. Torak shouted for the knight to keep going and Ebard panicked, running rather than walking. He stumbled as wood snapped beneath his pounding feet. Tor saw the rope straining and beginning to fray. He reached out past the beginning tear and gripped the rope.

"MOVE IT EBARD!" he shouted, pulling tight to keep it from ripping. The knights flew by him off the bridge just as the rope snapped. Tor let it go and watched the bridge twist awkwardly to one side. He looked at Ebard who stood bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Never doing that again."

Tor nodded. "Looks like we'll be taking the other way back. Let's keep going."

…

They entered another large cave. Tor recognized it immediately, though he'd known what it was from the beginning. He'd defeated the werelupe king just feet from where he stood. Tor looked around at the cave. There were grooves in the rock that were made to be seats for when what Tor guessed were meetings were held. On one side there were cages similar to the one Roberta had been trapped in. They were attached to ropes that went up through holes in the ceiling that prisoners were lowered through.

"You know," Tor began as he walked toward the cages. "This place is so much creepier without the werelupes."

"I agree," said the voice of Roberta as she and the three others walked through the other entrance. She threw a hateful look at the cages. "I don't understand where hundreds of them could have gone without anyone noticing."

Tor shook his head. He didn't get it either. He gripped the bone bars of the nearest cage and looked inside. There was a little pink bow sitting at the bottom. That was Lucy's; Tor would have recognized it anywhere. He'd given it to her for crying out loud! Tor gripped his sword and angrily cracked it against the bones once, twice, and on the third they came apart.

"Tor!" Roberta gasped. "What are you doing?"

He bent down and picked up the bow. "Look at this! She was here!" He held up the pink ribbon and showed it to her. Roberta opened her mouth, but no words came out. Tor dropped the ribbon and stalked through the exit. "Let's go. We aren't going to find anything here, but maybe Sophie might know something."

"That crazy witch?" Grayson asked. "Last time she only laughed in our faces."

"It's worth a shot," Tor growled. "I'm going to find out where they went even if I have to cross the entire kingdom. Once I do, the Assassin won't get the best of me twice."

….

Tor knocked on the door of the shack before opening it and stepping inside. Sophie was stirring something in a large cauldron. The smell of rotted baggus and bulbar fruit assaulted Tor's nose and burned his eyes.

"Ahhh, familiar faces I see," Sophie murmured without even turning to look at the visitors.

"Sophie, I need to ask you a few questions about the werelupes," Tor said, watching Grayson poke at a smoke mote.

"Of course that's what you came for," Sophie mumbled. She squinted at Tor from under the brim of her hat. "Took someone dear to you, didn't they? A sister maybe?"

Tor nodded. "Yes, my sister Lucy. Do you know where they went?"

Sophie stroked her chin. "Hmmm. I may have some information. But you shall have to do something first. A payment perhaps."

"This is a waste of time, Tor," Ignatius muttered. "She doesn't know anything. Let's just go."

"How much do you want?" Tor asked, ignoring Ignatius. Sophie knew something, and now he needed to know. This was just how Sophie worked.

Sophie cackled. "It ain't how much, young lupe. I request just one small vial of the venom from one of them flower monsters of the Shadowglen."

"Like I said, Tor. Waste of time," Ignatius said loudly to Tor. "Look you crazy—"

Tor held up his hand to tell Ignatius to be quiet. Sophie glared at the scorchio, muttering curses under her breath. "Ignore him, Sophie. I'll pay your price."

"What? Come on Tor!" Grayson exclaimed. Tor sent him a quieting look as he took the bottomless bag from his back. He knelt down on the ground and searched through it for the vial he knew was in there. On their journey, he and Roberta had taken samples of poisons from many different creatures they'd encountered. Who knew what use could be made from them? It took a while, but Tor finally found it, along with several other things he hadn't seen in months. Tor handed the vial to Sophie who sniffed it to make sure it was real.

"Very well, knight. Four nights ago I watched from my window there as them werelupes ran from their lair. All of 'em. A dark figure was at the lead with a rapier at his side. Of course I recognized him for who he really was. Your sister, Lucy you call her, was with 'em. Chained up and alive."

So Lucy was alive. Tor breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you know where they went?"

"Nope. The Assassin did say somthin' bout going east."

"That's all?" Tor asked, his frustration evident. He shook his head and turned around. "Thanks anyway I guess. Let's go everyone."

They left, Tor feeling disheartened about the lack of information. Lucy was still alive, but she could be anywhere by now, and all Tor knew was that she'd gone east.


	7. Chapter 7

I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie

Chapter 7:

"Tor."

The young knight looked up from his meal and to his father. He hadn't even seen him walk into the dining hall, though of course he hadn't been paying much attention. He'd been giving the new squire some pointers about dealing with the teachings of Master Torak. The gelert wasn't much younger than Tor himself and had shown up the day after the knights had returned from Werelupe Woods. Tor had actually met him twice before. Dawson was from Cogham, and Tor remembered seeing him fighting off the Ixi invaders. When Hubert approached Dawson respectfully dipped his head and moved over to sit by Grayson who he easily got along with.

"Dad. Something you need?"

"Your mother and I are returning to the farm today. I think that being back home will help her cope better."

Tor nodded solemnly. "I understand. But Dad, I'm going to bring Lucy home. Roberta and I—"

Hubert cut him off. "I know that you've both been doing your best to find out where the werelupes have gone. But Tor, chances are slim."

Tor looked down at his shoes. "Will you need an escort?"

"There's no need. Come and talk to your mother for a little bit before we have to leave."

….

"Are you feeling alright, Tor?" Roberta asked. They were walking towards the pub to grab a quick drink and, once again, do their best to track down the werelupes using their many maps that they'd collected. Most were treasure maps which held little detail, just main landmarks to help you know where you were. "Your mother is going to be fine."

"I know. I just feel like I failed them. I promised them I would find Lucy." Tor explained, his shoulders drooping.

"And you will, Tor," Roberta said with conviction. "You haven't failed, and you aren't going to."

They walked by the battle arena. Shanra was leaning against the stand, looking bored, staring up at the clouds. She was probably hoping that someone would step up for a fight sometime soon. "Hey there, Champ." She greeted Tor. "And Roberta. The two of you heading down for a drink?"

"Yeah," Tor nodded.

"We're mostly just going to be looking over maps though," Roberta added. She sat down on the empty stool next to Shanra's. The two acaras had become good friends in the two weeks Roberta had spent in Meridell. When Roberta wasn't with Tor, pouring over maps, training, or getting a drink, she was with Shanra, talking, watching battles, or getting a drink.

"Got any ideas yet?" Shanra asked.

"Not yet," Tor responded. He leaned against the wooden stand, knowing that they might be there for a few minutes. "I think that there must be some sort of underground system that they would go to, like the one in werelupe woods. Maybe an old mine or something. But that's just a theory."

"I get what you're saying." Shanra said. "But I think that might be a little obvious. This assassin seems too smart for that."

Tor frowned, thinking back to the previous encounters. The gelert had been a tricky fighter and he played dirty. But he'd had years and years of perfecting his style, from what the books had said. After his love had died, the gelert had become cold and heartless. He'd begun dabbling in dark magic to seek revenge. But the darkness and need for vengeance had consumed him, and once he has fulfilled his quest to rid Neopia of the one who killed his only love, he kept killing. He killed anyone who tried to stop him, he killed anyone who crossed him, and he killed for the money. His name had been lost for over a century. There was no need for a name, referred to only as the Dark Assassin. Tor shook his head in disgust. "You're right, Shanra. He's way too smart for something so simple. He'll want some way to show his power. However, his power is still growing and I think that, at least for now, he'll be lying low."

The two acaras stared at him with raised eyebrows. It could have been comical how alike they actually looked. Roberta began to nod slowly. "That's a theory, though I don't like the thought of him gaining power like this."

"Me neither," Tor murmured. The more power the Assassin gained, the less of a chance Tor had of beating him and getting Lucy back to their parents.

"What I want to know is how the guy started to lead the werelupes to begin with," Shanra said. "It seems very unlikely."

"It does seem unlikely in normal circumstances," Roberta began. "Tor killed the werelupe king in battle and that sent the werelupes into chaos. I'll bet all the assassin had to do was walk in and give a little show of his power. They'd follow him in a heartbeat. If they didn't they'd be killed or exiled if they were lucky."

Shanra shook her head in disgust and cursed under her breath at the werelupes. Tor understood where she was coming from. Werelupes were big and brutal opponents, but they were a disgrace. They held no loyalty and followed who held the greatest power. Had Tor stayed after defeating the king, then he would have easily been able to take the position. But he wouldn't even dream of it, being a leader to those mindless creatures.

…

It was late into the night, or rather early into the morning. The sun was not yet up, but would soon begin to rise over the horizon. Maybe Tor should have given up hours ago, but he still stared over the maps, searching for any little sign that might show where the werelupes could have gone. But these were treasure maps that showed very few landmarks. It only had enough so that the treasure hunter might know where he was going. But they weren't doing him any good. In his sudden anger, Tor swept the maps off the table and onto the floor. Thankfully Roberta had already gone to sleep, or she would have reprimanded him.

Tor stepped over the maps and went over to search the bookshelves again. There had to be something in one of these books. They just hadn't found it yet. Eventually Tor grabbed a book of legends, giving up on the map, but not ready to sleep. Maybe some reading would calm him down.

_The Golden Caves_

_Long ago there was a young Gelert. He was notorious in the lands of Meridell and Brightvale for his thieving ways and his silent way of killing, but nobody was ever able to capture him. For these reasons, he became known as The Shadow Raider. Nobody knew his real name or where he came from, not even his closest allies. The only clue the thief left at his sites of criminality was his calling card: a piece of paper with a dagger sticking into a coin that was marked with an S.R. drawn onto it. And it seemed to all that he was unstoppable._

_Then, after The Shadow Raider's biggest robbery, he was put to an end. The thief had managed to run off with a sizeable amount of Brightvale's treasure, posing for months as a guard. Not one had any suspicion as to who he really was. One night while on duty, he snuck down into the treasure vault and opened the door to his allies on the other side who had managed to make their way through the rumored tunnels that would lead to the treasury. Together they carried off many neopoints out through these tunnels and through the alleys of the kingdom to where a carriage was waiting for them outside of the city walls. It was the greatest con in history._

_All thieves have a code of honor, though many think this is false. They will stick together, stronger as a team than they are alone. These factions are closer knit than siblings and the thought of betrayal is worthy of death. But they all had their own secrets still. And the Shadow Raider's secret was where he kept his loot after the robbery._

_Seeing his chance, the Shadow Raider made off with all of the stolen money while the others were distracted by the sound of the raised alarms. Most of them got away with the intent of seeking out the Shadow Raider and getting their share. But a single thief was caught by the guards. In hope of getting set free, he told his interrogators the general area where they would find the Shadow Raider. He was not set free, but sentenced to life in the dungeons._

_The Shadow Raider was caught without the treasure, wandering around with many wounds from the men he betrayed. It is unknown whether or not they got their share. The thief was questioned about the whereabouts of the money, but ended up taking the secret to his grave, but leaving a single clue._

"_My treasure will be found under the stones as the flowers sing their mournful tune. They shall show the way."_

_There has yet to be anyone who had found where the treasure lies, but it is said that it lays Far East of the two kingdoms of Meridell and Brightvale._

Tor read and reread the passage several times, staring at the sketch of the thief's symbol. It sounded as if the treasure was underground in some kind of cave. Somewhere in the east. A cave in the east…

Tor jumped as Roberta walked into the library, yawning widely. She stopped when she saw him and the maps scattered across the wooden floor. "You were here all night?" Tor nodded slowly, still thinking about the story. "Well from the looks of it you didn't find anything. I think it's time you got some rest."

"Wait," Tor protested. He waved her over to him and held of the large book. "Read this." He watched as Roberta read the story, her confusion showing in her eyes. Finally she set the book down lightly on the stable.

"Is this really the time for a treasure hunt, Tor? A treasure that has never been found in recorded history no less, from a book that was written forty years ago."

Tor stared at her. That was all she took in from that? The last thing on his mind was the treasure! Tor stood from his seat and walked around the table to stand beside her. He pointed to the book and said, "I'm not talking about treasure here, Roberta! At the end, the riddle that the Shadow Raider left. 'My treasure will be found under the stones.' Right there he was talking about a cave, I know it. And it says that it is somewhere east of Meridell and Brightvale."

Roberta shook her head. "It only says that there's a possibility that it's there. And as I said, nobody's found it before."

Tor sighed and lowered his voice. "Look, I know it's a longshot. But maybe that's where they are! So far we've had no other lead. Don't you think that maybe it just might be worth checking out?"

She didn't answer right away, but regarded him with a thoughtful expression. Tor waited patiently for her to make a decision. "Alright, we can check it out. But not just yet. We need to prepare, and you need to get some sleep."

"I will. We'll take two days to prepare, and then we go."

….

Things didn't turn out as planned. The next day as the two were stocking up on potions and food, a techno, a little younger than Tor, walked straight up to him in the street. He had a wooden sword at his side and a shield on his back.

"Sir Tormund Ellis, I challenge you to a fight for the title as Arena Champion."

Tor just raised an eyebrow. This was a rare occurrence. This had to be the fighter he'd been told about that had moved up through the ranks almost as quickly as he did. And then Tor grinned. "Sure thing, kid."

"Tor, your wound hasn't closed yet," Roberta muttered in his ear. "You strain it too much as it is in training."

"I'll be fine," Tor told her quietly. "It's just a fight using wooden swords. Knockout wins."

Roberta rolled her eyes. "Boys!" she mumbled in exasperation and began walking. Tor and the techno just looked at each other in confusion and then to the sorceress. She realized that they weren't following her and turned around, hands on her hips. "Are you two coming or not? We might as well get this over with."

..

"Today's fighters are Tormund Ellis, our current champion," Shanra paused as cheers exploded through the stands. Tor gave them a slight wave in acknowledgment, keeping his eyes fixed on his opponent. "And our rookie, who I'm sure reminds us all of the Champ himself, Zachariah Parce!" More cheers followed, though noticeably less. Most were betting on the champion to win and would rather not lose their money. "A knockout wins. No potions of any kind or any kind of food or motes. Begin."

Tor drew his wooden sword. Zachariah came running at him. Yeah, he really was a rookie. Tor remembered doing the same thing though before he was trained to really fight. He quickly moved out of the way and Zachariah spun around just in time. The swords crashed into one another and Tor pushed the techno away easily. While Zachariah tried to regain his footing, Tor swung his sword at his hip, knocking Zachariah to the ground. The techno rolled away from the next swing and got to his feet in a fluid movement. Tor didn't get to dodge in time, still recovering from the miss, and was hit. It was only on his left arm, he'd managed to block most of it with his shield.

"You're better than I thought you'd be," Tor growled as their swords locked again a few minutes later

"So are you." Zachariah responded, panting. He was beginning to tire out, unused to fights lasting this long.

"Don't be getting cocky yet," Tor advised with a grin. He pulled away and before his opponent could react, he drove forward. 1…2…3…1…2…3… Hit after hit. Four out of the six hit their mark and Zachariah hit the ground. The crowd cheered, knowing that this was the end and that Tor had won. Tor raised his sword slightly and pointed it at Zachariah's neck. "Do you give?"

"I give," the techno gritted out angrily. He'd challenged Tor in the first place and now felt like a fool for losing. "You win."

Tor held out his hand and helped Zachariah up to his feet. "You're a pretty good fighter, but your skills are unrefined." Tor said. "Ever thought of becoming a knight?"

"Nope."

Tor smiled. "Well you should. Meridell could use someone like you, especially in these times. Think about it, and if you should decide that you would like to take the path to knighthood, go to Officer Kendrick. You'll need to have your parents sign permission forms and find a knight who will sponsor you, something I haven't got a problem with doing after that fight."

Zachariah looked at his feet. "My parents were killed around a month ago by the werelupes."

"That's just more of a reason to do this. I'm not saying get your revenge, but fight for them."

The techno nodded slowly. "I'll think about it."

Tor nodded. "Good." He took his sword from Roberta as she walked over and handed it to him. He sheathed it and tossed the wooden sword to the side. "You've got potential, Zachariah."

Tor and Robert walked away from the arena with Tor's pride intact and headed back to the castle with their supplies. When they reached the castle doors, they met guardsmen Wade and Hector, both with grave faces. Tor asked them what was wrong immediately, dread filling him and killing his good mood.

"There's an Ixi attack on Cogham. The messenger is inside with His Majesty now," Hector said.

"And Tor, you're not gonna like this," Wade said. "There's been word of a dark cloaked figure at the attack."

3-29-12


	8. Chapter 8

For the record, I do not know the plural form of Ixi.

Disclaimer: I do not own Neopets the Darkest Faerie.

Chapter 8:

Normally the knight would have just run to Cogham, it not being far away. The villagers were always able to fend for themselves fairly easily, the Ixies not posing as too great a threat. They were also trained in basic fighting so that they could hold off the attackers before help could arrive. But with the information of the assassin being in Cogham, they rode the unis. Three knights, a squire, and Roberta headed to the village when normally only two knights would be sent. Tor rose at the front, keeping an eye on Dawson who was just itching to get to Cogham, the place he was raised.

"At ease, Dawson. We'll be there soon." Tor guided his steed closer to the ground and ducked his head as they flew through the rocky tunnel that Tor had run through many times. They banked around a large stone pillar that went from the ground up to the roof of the cave and Tor felt a sudden pain in his abdomen. It was a reminder that he should not be fighting, instead he should be back at the castle, waiting for his wounds to heal. But he refused to sit back while there were neopets in need of help.

Tor heard the cries for help before he even exited the cave. He reached over his should and grabbed his sword, keeping one hand on the reins. As soon as they flew out of the cave he jumped off his uni and ran straight at an ixi who was jabbing at a young lupe relentlessly with her spear. Tor grabbed the wooden shaft and wrenched it away from his shocked opponent. He spun around once to gain momentum and cracked her over the head with her own weapon. The ixi slumped to the ground and Tor picked up the lupe and raced over to the food shop, the nearest place for him to hide.

"Stay here," he ordered gently before running back into battle, his sword in one hand and the spear in another. A flaming arrow sliced the air in front of him and stuck in the dirt next to his foot. He looked up to see archers lined up on the cliffs above. They would cause the most problems. He looked around for Roberta, ducking under the spear of a charging ixi and scoped the area for his friend whose long range spells would be useful. He watched her take out an Ixi archer by deflecting the flaming arrow back at him. She knew what she was doing already, but Tor knew that she couldn't do it alone.

His loud whistle pierced the air as Tor ran. His uni flew down beside him immediately at the call and Tor jumped on the steeds back. He guided it toward a cliff, swerving around arrows at the same time. Tor jumped off as they began to pass by the edge and landed in front of the stunned ixi. He lunged forward with his sword, killing the invader instantly. Tor sheathed his sword and picked up the bow. It would come in handy. He grabbed the quiver of arrows and took up, setting it up and taking aim at the ixi upon the nearest cliff. Archery wasn't his strongest point, but Master Torak had always insisted that he practice. Now it would all come in handy. Tor let go of the bowstring, sending the arrow through the air with a short hiss. The Ixi went down immediately, tumbling over the edge and into the river below.

The death went unnoticed and Tor was able to take out several more archers before the remaining ones caught sight of him. Once again Tor called to his uni, hopping onto its back as it flew by the overhang. He loaded another arrow and drew back the string. "Steady," he murmured to himself and the uni The arrow shot from the bow and into the neck of another archer. At the same moment a sickly orange light hit the last archer, sending him back into the wall of stone. The impact dislodged some rocks and sent them tumbling down onto the dazed neopet. "Nice one Roberta!" Tor mumbled, guiding the uni back to the ground where he jumped off and leaped back into the fray.

"You alright, Aldwin?" Tor asked the techno who was bleeding from his right cheek as he deflected a spear with his shield. The battle was thinning out quickly now, the villagers beginning to join in with whatever weapons they could find. Dawson was fighting side by side with a green grarrl who Tor knew as Bertrand. Elspeth from the food store was throwing rotted chokatos at the ixies as they fought, the mush getting into their eyes. Ingmar the armorer swung a giant hammer at any who came near the house he stood in front of that was one of the few not on fire with several young neopets peeking out the window.

"Fine," Aldwin answered. "These guys are nothing!"

"Right! We need to start forcing them back. Get to the others and give the order to make a line facing the ixies with their backs to the stream. They'll get nervous with their way back to the steppes cut off," Tor ordered quietly over his shoulder as he fought off the attacker. He heard Aldwin grunt with effort before responding,

"You sure that's a good idea? If they get nervous they might become more dangerous."

"I thought you said that these guys are nothing."

Aldwin chuckled. "You're gusty, Tor. I'll tell the others."

"Good luck."

The order spread quickly between the two of them and soon Tor found himself in between Roberta and Cadmere, their backs to the stream. The villagers who were in the fight joined the line and the remaining ixies found themselves suddenly huddled in a group facing their opponents on the wrong side of the line. Their hooves beat the ground nervously and Tor smirked in satisfaction. Now he could see how few there really were and the invaders could see it too.

"There is no way that you can win this fight," He called out in a strong voice. "Go back to your camp and don't return."

"What?" Dawson hissed. "We ought to kill them now!"

Tor narrowed his eyes at the squire. "Quiet, Dawson!" he ordered. The gelert still had much to learn and Tor would be speaking with him about it before the day was over. Some would say that he wasn't one to speak out of turn, but Tor would argue that there was a difference between speaking out of turn and speaking what was right, such as when King Skarl had denied Brightvale aide against the werelupe attack. He looked at the ixies again, his eyes burning. "This is a battle you will lose. If you return again then the consequences will be greater."

Slowly the ixi invaders began to bow their heads and drop their weapons. The line of defenders made a gap for them to move through between Tor and Roberta, forcing them to walk through the stream and soak their fur. Tor shared a glance with Roberta and they both nodded once to one another. Tor could see the thoughtful expression on her face when her eyes turned to him. Once the ixies were out of sight Tor jerked his head to Cadmere and Aldwin. "You two go and make sure they're gone. Keep an eye out for archers."

"You got it," Cadmere nodded and the two knights bounded off.

"Roberta, we need to check that the villagers are all fine."

"Looks like Dawson's already taking care of that." Tor looked over at the Squire to see him moving from on villager to the next, all of whom greeted the young gelert like family. Tor felt a twinge of annoyance at him for not waiting for orders. "Oh enough, Tor," Roberta said with exasperation. "You know that you would be doing the same, and if you hadn't been the one giving orders then you'd be in his place right now."

"You're right," Tor sighed. "These neopets are his family after all. I'm just stressed."

"I know." Roberta nodded sadly. "We'll be on our way soon. Here comes Mayor Jurgin."

They both turned to face the Mayor who was walking their way. The kacheek just barely came up to Tor's waist and Tor respectfully kept his head down as he bowed. The mayor bowed in return. "Sir Tormund, Lady Roberta, it is nice to see you once again, although the circumstances could have been nicer. The village thanks you both for the help."

"Of course, Mayor Jurgin," Roberta said. "The ixies only attack to put fear into the village. They have no gain for it other than to show power and for their own amusement."

"If they come back again then we'll just have to send an even stronger message," Tor added.

"Oh they will come back. And then they will come back again. It is a pattern that will never end," the mayor said sadly and truthfully. These battles between the village of Cogham and the Ixi Tribe had been going on for too many years to count, long before any of them had even been born.

Tor nodded in agreement. Looking up he saw Aldwin and Cadmere making their way back down the ridge. From the relaxed way they walked Tor knew that there was no longer a threat. He turned back to the mayor. "We need to be going soon, Mayor Jurgin. Do you mind…?"

Mayor Jurgin waved his arms. "No, go on! I'm sure that everyone will be glad to see their old friends."

Tor had once again forgotten how much he missed these neopets. Ruffie and Tad were still up to trouble, unfazed by the attack. Stanly was as paranoid as ever and Ingmar as rough as ever. Elspeth gave them a basket of various fruits. He and Roberta both felt the same reluctance to leave so abruptly, but the sooner they got to Meridell then the sooner they would be able to start their journey to find his sister and the Assassin.

…

"Dawson, walk with me a moment," Tor ordered as they reached the city of Meridell. He dismounted the uni and let it fly back to the stables. Dawson gave him a curious look, as did the other knights, but Roberta gave him a knowing glance. Tor waited until they were all gone before starting the walk to the castle with the squire.

"I apologize for speaking out of turn before," Dawson murmured after minutes of silence.

"It's fine. I understand why you did it too. Believe me on that one. But there are times when you keep silent and there are times when it's ok to speak up. Sometimes what you have to say needs to be heard. Today wasn't one of those times."

"I understand."

Tor nodded at the squire and kept on talking. "I know about your parents, that they were both killed during an ixi raid. But you don't become a knight in order to get the training needed so that you can get your revenge. That's not what it means. There is a code of honor that we are sworn by and killing without reason is not part of it."

"What about your sister?" Dawson asked. "You and Roberta are going to find her right? You can't just go waltzing into their den in the middle of daylight though, so I'm guessing you'll be going at night, sneaking around and killing any werelupe you encounter."

Tor cocked his head. "Can you honestly say that it's the same situation? Don't you think that if this had anything to do with the kingdom then King Skarl would send others with me? Two neopets walking alone into the heart of the werelupe pack is practically a suicide mission. This was a request of my own. The Assassin is a threat to all of us at this point. If it weren't for the opportunity of gaining some information then His Majesty would never let me go off."

"But you've done it before, right? I mean, that's what the rumors say about you and Roberta."

"Yes, and I ended up fighting the werelupe king while Roberta was trapped in a cage. A foolish mistake on her part and I walked into a situation where there was no other choice. See the Werelupe King stole Illusen's charm that kept her from being controlled by the Darkest Faerie. Roberta and I needed Illusen's help to get by the wall of dark magic circling the city. We went into the werelupe caves and split up to cover more ground. She found the charm but got caught into a trap, I killed the Werelupe King. The other werelupes were so shocked that they turned tail and ran."

"You speak as though it's an everyday occurrence, Tor, and yet from what I've heard you've never told anyone the entire story."

Tor nodded with a small smile as they walked toward the castle gates. "It's funny, when I still lived on the farm all I ever wanted was to be a hero, to be the guy that you heard in stories as a kid. Now I see that it's not what I thought it was. Somebody needed to step up and fight. Me and Roberta just did what we had to do. Now, do me a favor and not spread around what I told you."

"Of course not. Just between us, right?"

"Exactly. And don't forget my advice."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie.

Chapter 9:

"Tor, I heard that Angus was asking for you," Ebard interrupted Tor's tense and slightly awkward conversation with Lady Anabel. Roberta was out with Shanra again, getting in some time with their friend before it was time to depart, leaving him alone in the castle. Lady Anabel had approached him in the courtyard to talk. Tor was thankful for the interruption. "He needs to see you before you leave he said. It sounds important to me."

"Yeah, I'll get over there," Tor said, smirking at jealous look his fellow knight was sending him. Little did he know that Tor and Anabel were really discussing that it would never work between them as Anabel had always hoped. Tor. He turned to the green aisha and set his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry again, Lady Anabel. I'll see you around." He leaned forward and whispered so that Ebard couldn't hear, "I'm not the right guy out there for you, but I know so many others who would love for you to come and tell them what you did me."

With that said, Tor left the courtyard, finding the nearest door into the castle. Soon he would be leaving this behind again, traveling under the sky and sleeping in a tent. He didn't know how long the journey would take this time; no one had ever found the caves and the Shadow Raider's treasure. Tor figured that the clues given would be enough, in some caves on the coast east of the two kingdoms. What he didn't get was how some flowers were going to show him the way. They could figure that out once they got there though.

"Hey Tor!" someone called. He turned around and saw two young kids running toward him, Kendel and Gram. It had been Kendel who galled his name, the gelert waving his arms over his head. Gram ran beside his friend, with an excited grin. "Tor, we're playing hide and seek with Ella and Paunch, but we can't find them. Wanna play?"

Tor smiled at the two. "Sorry kids, I head Angus needs me at the shop. I'll see you guys soon."

Gram's ears drooped. "But mom said that you're leaving again soon. She said that you'll be gone a long time."

"Hopefully it won't be for that long. And by the way," Tor sniffed the air and grinned when he caught what he was looking for. He kneeled down and whispered, "Ella and Paunch are hiding over there in those barrels outside the food shop. You'd better find them before Sowter figures out. He'll be a bit sour about it. Use your noses."

Their eyes brightened immediately. "Thanks Tor!" they chorused before running off. Tor stood straight again with a chuckled and carried on to the Apothecary down the road. Behind him he could hear the complaints from the two hiding neopets that it wasn't fair that Gram and Kendel had gotten his help. He grinned and shook his head, remembering when he was a kid on the farm. There'd been very few neopets around his age, only two among the farming families and they'd been Tor's closest friends growing up. Now those days were gone. Turk and Aryanna were starting to control their farms in their parents' places as they got older and Tor lived here.

"Good morning, Angus," Tor greeted the aged grarrl as he walked into the shop. Angus was hovering near his smoking cauldron which was emitting purple smoke. The acrid scent of the potion filled the air and Tor wrinkled his nose. "I heard that you wanted to see me."

"Yes, I was hoping to catch you before you left," Angus said, his voice unusually serious. Tor leaned against the counter and waited, picking up a strengthening potion and holding it o the light. Perfectly clear liquid filled the bottle as expected from the potion master. "I have something for you that, might prove useful."

"Oh? What is it?"

Angus reached under the counter and pulled out a vial filled with a minty green liquid. He handed it to Tor who inspected it carefully. "You remember that flower I sent you to find I presume."

Tor glanced up at Angus. "Yes, of course I do. The harpflower."

"Exactly. This is the potion I needed it for, a creation of my own that I have been working on for years. If it works as expected, and you could get the victim to drink it, then it can cure a werelupe bite."

Tor looked at Angus in shock. Werelupe bites were potentially fatal to any neopet who wasn't a lupe unless they were seen too quickly. If you were a lupe then as long as the wounds were not to severe, you would be turned into a werelupe. There wasn't much more information than that as most of those who had tried to research the subject were killed in the end before much information could be found. "You're kidding."

"I'm not. I've been working for fifteen years on this potion, studying every piece of information I could get my claws on," Angus murmured solemnly. He took the vial and tied a piece of string around the lip of the glass near where the cork was so that it could be worn like a necklace. He handed it back to Tor who put it around his neck and tucked it under his shirt so that it rested against his chest near his amulet. "Don't get your hopes up Tor. If your sister has been bitten then there is a chance that this might not work. This territory in potion making has not yet been explored."

Tor nodded and reached out to shake Angus' hand. "I understand. And thank you."

….

The lupe knight walked into the pub, his talk with Angus leaving him with a lot more to think about. He immediately saw Roberta and Shanra sitting in the corner as far away from Dumpus as they could get. The drunkard was slumped over the table with Tina the waitress poking at him with frustration written clear on her face. Tor made his way over to the two acaras, slamming his fist down on the table Dumpus was sitting at. Dumpus jumped up in his seat, staring around in confusion as Tor slid into an empty seat next to Shanra.

"You seem a little uptight," Roberta commented.

"Just saw Angus." Tor pulled the vial out of his shirt and held it up for them to see. "He gave me this."

"And that is…" Shanra questioned.

"A potential cure for the werelupe bite," Tor answered. "If Lucy has been bitten then this might return her to normal. But he told me not to get my hopes up."

Roberta gaped and gently took the bottle from his hands. He leaned toward her so that she could bring it closer to look at. "If this works, then the werelupe population will seriously decrease."

"Yeah, if you can get them to drink it and if you can get enough of it. One of the primary ingredients is the harpflower. Incredibly rare and expensive."

"Never heard of it," Shanra said.

"I'm not surprised," Roberta said. "Like Tor said, they're very rare, but they have a beautiful voice at night when the moon is shining."

Shanra rubbed her eyes. "Well I'm confused."

Tor exchanged an amused glance with Roberta and said, "It's hard to explain if you've never seen one, but at night the flower… sings in a way. I've only ever heard it once when Angus sent me out to find one a few months ago after I returned from visiting my family." Roberta handed him the vial again and he hid it back under his shirt. "Anyway, without the flower this potion isn't happening. And it might not even work to begin with."

The conversation was interrupted by Tina. "What can I get you Tor?" she asked.

Tor looked up. "You're a little late aren't you? I've been here for a few minutes now you know."

Tina rolled her eyes. "Well I had to deal with Dumpus first. Honestly, he's been here for two hours and drunk already."

"The day he's sober is the day I grow wings and fly to Altador. Anyway, just get me the strongest you've got."

"Ooh, startin' early today!" Shanra grinned at him and Tor chuckled along with Roberta and Tina. The aisha went to get him his drink from Pat the bartender, winking at him as she walked by. To watched her for a moment before he caught Roberta grinning at him. He then leaned back in his seat again. He would miss this place when he was gone.

…..

Tor adjusted his pack on his shoulder, staring out at the stretched of road in front of him. It would take them through the plains in the direction of Brightvale. The plan was to take the road until it branched off to Werelupe woods and head East through the forests, skirting Market Town to get to the coastline. Cutting through the forest would be much faster than taking the road to Market Town and going to the sea from there. There would be less of a chance of running into bandits in the woods too, unless they happened to stumble upon one of their hideouts.

The young knight looked around at the faces of those who came to the gates to see him and Roberta off. All of the Meridell knights were there, including Dawson and the newest squire, Zachariah, the techno from the arena. Lady Anabel and Lady Prunella were there as well and for once the villagers weren't so excited at some higher-up from the castle among them so casually. Farther away in the shadows of a building Tor could see several figures that included Rory, the shady map seller and The Meerca twins of the thieves guild. Tor just nodded to them briefly. They might be rotten thieves, but they'd played a vital role in the destruction of the Darkest Faerie.

"Good luck, Tor," Grayson said, clapping the yellow lupe on his armored shoulder. "I daresay you'll be needing it for this one."

Tor grinned at his friend. "Yeah, I will. You be careful around here too. Though I didn't see the Assassin during the battle at Cogham, they said he was there briefly. We don't know what he's up to at the moment so keep your guard up."

"Of course."

Angus appeared in Grayson's place as the knight stepped back. "Are you sure there are no more potions that you might need? They'll be on me."

"We're fine, Angus." Tor lowered his voice and added, "Don't let Gamon get ahead of you while I'm gone. I'm sure the new squires will be looking for extra neopoints in their spare time."

The goodbyes continued to go on and on until finally Tor and Roberta stood in front of the gates leading out of Meridell, facing the crowd. Guardsmen Henry and Korbin opened the iron gates and bowed to them as they walked through. As the two travelers began their journey, Tor pulled out his amulet, gripping it tightly in his fist. Hopefully it would keep him safe this time around.

…

They made first camp a little off in the woods past Illusen's Glade after stopping in at the glade to gather some neggs. The gladers allowed them to pick freely, for which the travelers were thankful. Neggs were expensive, being great for restoring energy and replenishing magic depending on the type, and though it was hard work to pick them, it was better to save their money for tight spots.

Tor poked the fire with a stick to churn up the embers and keep it going. He was taking the first watch so that Roberta could sleep without the fear of bandits stealing their things or other creatures finding their camp. It reminded Tor of their days journeying together, but this time he felt slightly more relaxed. Now he didn't fear the darkest faerie's minions popping out from their portals and attempting to destroy everything, including Tor and Roberta.

He sat there for a long time, listening to the sounds of the forest and night. The young knight kept his ears open for any unusual sounds and sniffed the air every once in a while to make sure all was still clear. A part of him knew that there really wasn't much to fear, the darkest Faerie wasn't creating chaos anymore, but it felt too much like those days where she was. At some point the first rays of the sun could be seen through the trees and Roberta crawled out of the tent, wearing his Altadorian battle robes.

"You should've woken me up before, Tor," she told him. "You need your sleep too."

"I'm fine. We ought to get moving soon."

Roberta put her hand on his shoulder to stop Tor from standing up. "We have time, Tor. Get some sleep and we'll leave in a few hours. I'll see what I can cook up so that we can eat."

Tor nodded once in assent. "Fine. Wake me up in a bit."

"Sure. Get some sleep."

Tor unbuckled his sword from his belt and set it gently next to his armor which he'd taken off during their first day of journeying. He hadn't realized how tired he was until his head hit the makeshift pillow of a rolled up blanket. He was asleep seconds after his eyes closed.


	10. Chapter 10

Yes, it's been a while since the last update. Sorry about that. See, I pretty much make this up as I go along, going off of the few ideas as to where I want this story to go. I just haven't known what to write.

Disclaimer: I do not own Neopets the Darkest Faerie.

Chapter 10

Tor checked his compass. Still heading east. These dense woods made it easy to get turned around, especially when traveling in the dark. He adjusted the pack on his back and glanced over at Roberta who seemed lost in thought. They'd been working their way through the forest for a week now, their food supply nearly gone. From what Tor could tell, there was still another two days until they would reach the ocean. Then they would just have to find the lair. Not once had they wondered aloud what they would do if Tor had been wrong in his conclusion that the assassin had moved the werelupes to the Golden Caves, but both had been thinking about it.

A stick broke in the bushes and the two travelers stopped in their tracks, glancing at one another. It was too big to be some petpet. Tor slowly went for his sword at his belt and Roberta grabbed her wand. A second later there was a flash of brown that burst out of the brush to their left. A werelupe! Tor drew his sword and blocked the attack from the beasts bone club. The werelupe had been hiding downwind, preventing Tor from picking up the scent.

Then, strangely enough, the werelupe backed off a few steps staring at Tor with wide eyes before they flicked over to Roberta who had her wand pointed at him, a spell on her lips. "It's you!" the werelupe rasped out in a gravelly voice. It dropped to all four paws and bowed its large head. Tor exchanged a confused glance with Roberta. What in the king's name was going on? "Thank you Sir Tormund, for freeing my family from the King of Werelupes."

Now Tor was beginning to understand. This werelupe and his family must have gone loner after he'd killed the Werelupe King. He looked over at Roberta and she nodded. They lowered their weapons slowly and Roberta came up to stand by Tor. "Stand," he ordered. The werelupe got back onto his feet, hooking the club onto his belt. "What is your name?"

"Alcasar."

"Alright, Alcasar, you left after the werelupe king was killed then?"

"Yes. We left before somebody else; some tyrant was able to take over."

"And you were right to," Roberta said. "Somebody worse has become their leader."

"His name has been lost for over a century," Tor added. "Now he is only known as the Assassin for the Dark Gelert. I imagine that all he had to do was show the pack the power he carries and they would follow him immediately. The same was done with the ixies. He moved the pack from the caves in Werelupe Woods. Right now we are on our way to find where the Assassin has taken them."

"You are on the right path. Many nights ago the entire pack came through here. I stayed out of the way; they don't take very well to traitors. I suggest that you do the same and head back home."

Tor shook his head. "I can't do that Alcasar. They've got my sister and I'm not leaving her. I promised my parents."

The loner nodded. "I understand. Come, rest at my cave for the night. I would like to hear more of this Assassin and what he's done."

Tor looked at Roberta and she nodded her assent. They wouldn't have gone much farther that night anyway, and now they knew for sure that they were heading in the right direction. "Lead the way Alcasar."

…..

The werelupe shook his head and Tor's tale while his wife, Bredda, covered her mouth in horror. "I am glad we were able to get out of there while we still could," Alcasar murmured, glancing over to where his two young daughters, Nym and Medea, were sleeping, curled up by the fire. Tor and Roberta sat cross-legged on the floor on the far side of the cave with the two werelupe adults as to not wake the girls. The fire cast a warm glow across the cave and it reminded Tor of being a child, camping with his friends and making shadow puppets.

"I'm sorry to hear of what happened to your sister," Bredda murmured in a surprisingly soft voice. It was strange for the travelers to be speaking civilly to two werelupes when in the past their only contact with the species had been through violence. "And I understand what you are trying to do."

Tor nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you. And thank you for the food and shelter for the night."

"It is nothing," Alcasar said, showing his large teeth in a sort of smile. "It is a rare and strange thing to have travelers in this area."

"Unsurprising," Roberta remarked. "These woods are rather…"

"Secluded?" Bredda suggested, and Roberta nodded. "Well that is the point. It is safe here, no hunters and no discrimination for what we are. If others were to find us living here…" she looked over at her daughters. "I fear that we would not last very long."

Tor and Roberta nodded in understanding. What she said was true. The only words ever said or written of werelupes were that they were fearsome, bloodthirsty creatures who valued nothing other than their next kill. No value for any life. While that might be true for most, Alcasar and Bredda made it obvious that it was just the opinion of close-minded neopets who couldn't see past their fingertips. Just talking to these werelupes for a few minutes and watching their children play like any other child had changed both of their minds.

The knight stretched with a large yawn falling onto his back. This cave was too comforting; it reminded him of the barn on his farm, a place he tended to sleep in when Lucy was being annoying. Now he would give anything just to hear her threaten to tell Mom on him for accidentally letting the Whinnies out of their pen. A few moments later he felt something being pushed under his head. He opened his eyes to see that Roberta had folded a blanket for him to use as a pillow.

"Both of you ought to get some sleep," Alcasar said as he and Bredda got to their feet. "A long journey ahead of you, which will most likely end with violence. Gather your strength while you can."

….

Light filtered in through the cave entrance, bringing Tor into wakefulness. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, looking around him. Roberta was still asleep beside, as were Nym and Medea. Bredda was cooking something over the fire, though Alcasar was nowhere to be seen. "Good morning Bredda," Tor whispered across the cave to the werelupe matriarch. She looked up from what she was cooking, it looked like a wild snorkle that Tor guessed Alcasar had caught earlier in the morning.

"Good morning to you as well, Tormund. This won't be ready for a little while yet so I would let Roberta sleep a while longer."

Tor nodded in agreement, glancing warily at the sleeping sorceress. One of the main reasons he always took first watch was that Roberta was rather… scary when she was woken up. More than once he'd been hit or been at the receiving end of a spell. "I'm not sure I'm ready to wake her up just yet. It takes mental and physical preparations which I have yet to get around to."

Bredda chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."

To stood at the cave entrance looking out in the distance where he could just see a small part of the ocean. The cave was located on a large hill which overlooked the forest for miles. Surrounding him was a boulder field that went on in every direction from the cave, making it slightly dangerous in heavy rain. He stepped out of the cave and looked around. Alcasar was standing on top of one of the largest boulders, the wind ruffling through his long fur. Tor climbed up next to the werelupe and followed his gaze to the ocean.

"I'd say it would probably be about a two day trip from here," Alcasar informed him.

Tor nodded. "That was my estimate." He glanced up at Alcasar before turning back to the direction of the ocean. "I would never say this in front of Roberta, but I'm nervous about what is going to happen, especially now that you've confirmed that we are going the right way."

"I wouldn't expect anything less, even from the knight who took down the Darkest Faerie and her followers. The Assassin will be a fearsome opponent."

"He already came close to killing me just weeks ago, during the celebration on the anniversary of the Darkest Faerie's defeat."

Alcasar dipped his head. "Yes, you said so last night. And yet you still think that you will be able to defeat him while surrounded by the pack, just as you did with the previous king?"

"Had King Skarl and King Hagan given us more fighting power, then I believe it would have been possible. However, with just Roberta and me, the possibility is very small. The Assassin doesn't have the same pride that the old King did. The Gelert Assassin fights dirty, calling upon his dark magic and any others to do his dirty work. I told you how he is now leading the Ixi tribe near Cogham. He didn't show himself once after me and the other knights arrived. He knows that I do have the power to beat him, as I nearly did once before he teleported away. I doubt that he has any intentions of fighting me one on one and Roberta won't be able to keep all of the other werelupes back on her own. They aren't the same fighters that they were when you were still a part of the pack."

"So what is your plan?"

Tor sighed. "I don't have much of one to be honest. I get into the lair and find where they have my sister. For all I know she is a part of the pack at this point. If she's been turned I have a potion, made by a friend of mine that might turn her back."

"So a cure has finally been discovered?"

"Possibly. It isn't exactly easy to test it out. Lucy is practically a test subject if I can get to her."

Alcasar grunted and for a few moments they were silent, staring straight ahead. Then the werelupe asked, "And what if you are bitten?"

He and Roberta had discussed the possibility more than once. It was always Roberta who brought it up and Tor would always give her the same answer. "If I'm bitten then Roberta will have to kill me. She'll take the potion and give it to Lucy."

"Which isn't going to happen because you aren't going to get bitten." Tor and Alcasar looked over their shoulders at Roberta who was standing with Bredda at the mouth of the cave. She had a determined expression on her face and Tor wondered exactly how long the two women had been there and how much of the conversation had been heard. He exchanged a sheepish glance with Alcasar. They should have been aware of the two listening in. "Anyway," Roberta went on. "The food is done so both of you come in and eat."

"A bit demanding ain't she?" Alcasar muttered. Tor smirked.

"Always has been that way. Well, she did grow up in a castle so I would expect no less from her."

Tor shut his mouth when Roberta turned and sent him a glare that said, 'I will hit you if you don't shut your mouth.' Tor chuckled along with Alcasar. "Feisty too. You had better watch out with that one."

…..

"Make sure that you two stop in again on your way back through," Bredda told the two travelers. Once again they had their gear on their backs, their weapons at their sides.

"Do you really have to leave already?" Nym whined and Medea nodded her head in agreement with her sister. Roberta kneeled on the ground in front of the girls and smiled. "We'll be back through, I promise. And we'll have someone else for you to meet with us." Their eyes brightened immediately and they squealed with delight, running in circles around everyone's feet. Roberta stood back on her feet and dipped her head to the adult werelupes. "Thank you again for letting us spend the night and feeding us."

"It was nothing, really," Alcasar told them. His eyes fell on Tor. "The two of you have a hard few days in front of you and strength will be needed. Hopefully it will go as planned and if so, I expect to see the two of you again soon along with your sister, Tor."

"Of course," Tor nodded with a small smile. "Stay well, Alcasar, and you Bredda. Expect to see us in around five days."

"Will do. We wish you both luck."

Roberta and Tor picked their way down the hill, doing their best not to slide down on their bottoms due to a loose rock underfoot. Once they reached the bottom and began to head deeper in the woods Roberta turned to look at Tor. "Well that is a story to tell. Who would have thought that werelupes could actually be regular, civil neopets?"

…

A/N: Yeah, it's been a while, I know. I just couldn't figure out where to go from where I left off in the last chapter. Sorry for the wait though.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie.

Chapter 11:

Tor had been able to smell the ocean a mile away, though he didn't say anything to Roberta. He stayed silent until they had emerged from the trees only to find themselves atop a rocky cliff overlooking the sandy beach below and the ocean. A strong breeze blew into their faces a Roberta's hair whipped Tor in the face.

"Sorry," She said with the laughter ringing in her voice as she tied it back with a small band. She stood at the very edge of the cliff and looked down. It was no less than sixty feet to the ground. "Whoa," she whispered, taking a step back. "How do we get down?" she asked.

Tor looked to his left and then to his right, seeing that the cliff continued to stretch out on both sides farther than he could see. He dropped his backpack down onto the ground and yanked it open. "I guess we're climbing. I've still got that rope gun that my dad built."

"Sounds good to me," Roberta nodded and sat down on the ground, crossing her legs.

Tor raised his eyebrows briefly before starting his search for the rope gun. Roberta certainly wasn't like most women he knew. Most would probably rather sit alone at the top of the cliff and wait for him to do the dirty work than climb down sixty feet of a cliff with the only support being a bit of rope. He no longer found it all that surprising when Roberta said something like that. He pulled out the rope gun and released the catch. "Hold this," he said, handing Roberta the gun. He took the end with the hook and found a sturdy tree which he wrapped the rope around five times before pounding the hook into the root with his fist.

"Is there enough rope on this thing to reach the bottom?" Roberta asked worriedly. "We never really tested out how much distance it had."

Tor nodded and went to his backpack again. He dug around for a bit before pulling out two pairs of gloves and tossed the smaller pair to Roberta. "Yeah, there's about sixty on it. Maybe a little less, but that won't do much harm. These gloves will make going down much easier too."

"I can see that," Roberta said, inspecting the gloves closely. They were another invention from his dad, made for rock climbing. They made of strong leather, enforced with little bristles that were great for gripping onto things. Tor had tested them out many times around the farm and found that he'd been able to scale the side of the barn with a bit of extra work.

"Drop the gun over the side," He ordered and Roberta did just that, watching it fall through the air before stopping just a few feet from the ground. Tor tugged on the rope to make sure that it was secure before asking, "You want me to go first?"

Roberta shook her head. "I'll go. You spot me and keep a grip of the rope in case it comes loose."

"Alright. Be careful."

Roberta looked over the side of the cliff, standing with her back to it as she gripped the rope tightly in her hands. "Yeah, I got that." And then she dropped over the side. Tor watched her carefully, keeping a tight grip on the rope just in case. Nothing seemed to faze that girl. In a few minutes she had reached the ground. "Alright, you're turn!" she shouted up to him. Tor could barely hear her over the wind and from the distance. He tugged the rope once again before starting his journey to the ground.

Tor let the rope slide through his gloved hands for a few feet before clamping down hard and digging his feet into the cliff face. He repeated the process over and over, it becoming easier along the way. Once his feet slipped and he dangled for a second or two before he got himself back under control. When there was ten feet to go he let go and dropped into the sand. He stood up and adjusted his backpack. "Well that was something new."

Roberta nodded and looked up at the top of the cliff. "What about the rope?"

"We'll leave it. Escape route."

"Good idea. Let's rest here for a bit."

Tor nodded and sat down, leaning against the rocks. He took off the gloves and tucked them into his belt which held his sword. He gazed out at the ocean. It was so… endless. "You know, one day I think I'd like to sail the ocean."

Roberta turned to look at him with a small smile. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I've heard many stories from sailors who come to Meridell to sell their goods and it sounds amazing. There's so much out there that we've never seen, things that we couldn't even imagine."

Roberta was silent for a few moments. Her fingers closed around the amulet that still hung around her neck. "Yes, it would be incredible, I'll admit that. But then I think about the things we have seen. We've been to Altador of all places. And when I think about that, it seems like there can't be much more to see."

"One day, Roberta, I'm going to take you on a journey over the ocean and prove you wrong about that one."

Roberta laughed. "I'm sure you will, Tor. But until then, I'll stick by my opinion." She stood up and held out her hand. "We should probably start searching. It might take a while."

…

Hours later, the two travelers returned to that same spot, feeling weary after spending the entire day searching. All they had found were clues that the werelupes were in the area such as bones from their prey and traces of a footprint or two. Any other footprints or scents had been washed away by the ocean. By the time the sun began to set, they'd found nothing.

"We'll have to keep searching tomorrow," Roberta sighed as they sat down in the same sparsely area of grass as before. "We won't find anything in the dark." Tor just nodded silently, his ears drooping slightly. Roberta put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Tor, we'll find it and we won't leave until we do. I can promise you that."

Tor sighed. "I know." He held the vial of the cure up in front of his face. The orange light from the sunset shone through the glass creating a distorted image. "I hope this works…"

"It will. Angus is one of the best Potion Makers known, even in Brightvale. He's the one who taught Gerwuld everything he knows," She said comfortingly, speaking of the prickly Potions Master of Brightvale. "Except manners. Gerwuld has no concept of manners."

Tor grinned, remembering the many encounters he'd had with the older lupe. "I remember the first time I met him. He yelled at me for stepping too close to one of his cauldrons."

"Well he was making a particularly dangerous potion that could potentially explode if something got in it that the recipe didn't call for."

"Oh, so you're on his side now. I see how you are."

"Wait, what? I was just—"

Tor cut her off with his laughter. "I was just kidding Roberta. Even so, it was no reason for him to call me a half-brained kid who didn't know his tail from his nose."

Roberta shook her head, laughed. "That's true," she sighed and they fell silent, wearing grins on their faces at the memories. The sun had sunk behind them in the west and the faced the beginnings of night. The moon was just beginning to rise over the sea, though there were still faded streaks of orange over their heads. "If we weren't facing danger head on right now, I would really love it here. It's so peaceful."

"Yeah," Tor whispered in agreement. He listened to the waves crashing on the shore a few feet ahead and let himself doze off to the comforting sound. Roberta was doing the same her head resting on his shoulder. A part of tor knew that they shouldn't fall asleep, that this was a dangerous area to be in, especially at night, put the sounds were too comforting. The waves, the wind rustling over the sand, the music…

Music? Tor's head snapped up, startling Roberta. "What's wrong?" she asked, looking around for whatever had set the knight off.

"Do you hear that?" he whispered, straining his ears to hear the music. It was soft and sad, like a lullaby, and he had heard it before.

"Hear what? Tor what in King Altador's name are you talking about?"

"The music!" He whispered excitably. He climbs to his feet and dragged Roberta up onto hers. "Listen!"

Roberta looked at him, confused, but closed her eyes. An expression of concentration crossed her face for several seconds before her eyes opened and she nodded slowly. "I hear it. Where is it coming from though? It sounds familiar…"

"Because you've heard it before. On the beach near Brightvale, where we met. It's called a harpflower and they're very rare."

"Okay… but why—"

"Don't you remember the story? 'The flowers will sing their mournful tune.' Roberta this is what the Shadow Raider was talking about! The harpflowers! They only play their music at night when the moon it up, which is why anybody who ever tried to find the caves couldn't. Who in their right mind who stay around here at night, and those who did would just pass the music they heard off, not even realizing that it was exactly what they were looking for!"

Roberta smiled widely. "So all we have to do is follow the sound of the music!"

"Exactly." He looked in the direction where the music was coming from. "We had better get ready for a fight, Roberta, because there's going to be one."

Roberta nodded solemnly and they both turned to their endless backpacks. Tor found and equipped his Altadorian armor for the first time since the journey began. He sheathed his sword at his side and strapped his shield onto his back. Roberta found her Altadorian battle robes which did not offer much protected, but each thread held a bit of magic that acted as a shield from many attacks and were easy to move about in. She would be a hard target for any attacker. They looked at one another for a few moments, feeling ready for battle. This is what they lived for.

"Ready?" he asked.

"For anything."

Tor nodded and hid his pack behind a rock while Roberta did the same. Keeping a hand on the hilt of his sword, Tor led the way, following the music. A distance away he found the first flower, hidden in the beach grass. The deep sapphire blue of the daffodil like flower caught his eye and he knelt down next to it, the music filling his ears. There was just enough light from the moon to see the music scale patterns on the petals.

"Wow…" Roberta whispered. "Oh, there's another one!" And sure enough, several feet away there was another flower, and a little farther away another. Just as the clue given by the Shadow Raider described, the flowers were leading them to their destination. Beyond them, Tor could see several more, hidden among the grass. They seemed to be glowing in the moonlight, becoming brighter and brighter as the moon rose. Each flower sounded different, yet the sounds all went together to form a single, beautiful song.

They continued to follow the flowers until the line stopped at the base of the cliff. Tor frowned, seeing nothing there. "Oh what the—"

"Wait," Roberta held up a hand, shushing him. Her eyes were closed in concentration and Tor waited. "I can sense magic here." She touched the rock and her eyes snapped open as she peered closer. "Tor, look at this!"

Tor edged closer and leaned forward to see what she was talking about. It would have been hard to see, even in daylight, but there was a small circle etched into the rock and a cross stabbed into it which Tor knew symbolized a dagger. "His mark. But how do we get by?"

"I'm not sure…" she placed her hand on the stone again with a small frown of concentration. "Wait…" A few moments later she swore. "Dammit! It requires a password!"

"A Password?" Now it was Tor's turn to swear, ten times worse than Roberta had. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"We wait," Roberta said simply. "We wait until someone leaves or comes back. Then we'll hear the password and we can get by."

"We can't afford to wait any longer!" Tor hissed in agitation, his tail lashing. Roberta stood, unfazed.

"Your sister has waited this long, she can wait a little longer, Tor. We hide our scents, and we wait. The moment the door opens—"

"We kill them. As silently as possible. I remember."

Roberta nodded. This would be a silent mission, with little speaking and quiet kills. No werelupe they came across could be left alive and any bodies would need to be hidden anywhere they could. They didn't need the entire pack attacking them at once, though it was something they were both aware that they were capable of. "Now, we have to hide our scents. Any suggestions?"

"Yes, and you won't like it."

….

"I can't believe you made me do that," Roberta muttered, wrinkling her nose at the smell of carrion. The rotted smell would easily hide their own scents and from the look and smell of the place, no werelupes would think twice about it.

""It's ten times worse for me you know," Tor replied.

"It's in my hair!"

Tor fought back a chuckle. "Come on, we have to hide quickly."

Within minutes they had perched themselves in a tree that overlooked the sealed entrance. There wasn't much cover, but they wouldn't need cover for long. Tor made himself as comfortable as possible, crouching on a thick branch that he could easily jump and kill from. Roberta sat in the same position on a lower branch, her wand in one hand and a dagger in the other. She would provide support from above and in the case that there was more than they expected she could take a few down with a dagger. Neither of them were a force to be reckoned with, especially as a team.

A half an hour passed and they still sat there, completely still like two predators. And then Tor heard footsteps, coming from within the tunnel. He leaned forward and pricked his ears. Three of them. He hissed down to Roberta as a wave crashed on the beach. If he could hear the werelupes, they could hear him. Roberta looked up at him and he held up three fingers. She nodded and got ready to jump.

"_Sic transit gloria mundi."_

It was a low growl of a voice, but Tor was just able to hear it, even if he didn't know what it meant. There was a loud groaning sound and as Tor watched a part of the stone seemed to slide away into the ground, forming a doorway. Three large figures stepped out of the tunnel and sniffed the air. Tor held his breath, but after a few moments the three carried on. That's when Tor made his move.

He jumped from his branch, pointing his sword down. He landed on the shoulders of the third werelupe who was slightly behind the other two and as he landed, his sword plunged through the beast's neck, severing the spine. Tor wrenched out his sword as Roberta dropped from the tree onto the leading werelupe. The other had turned around at the sound of his companion's body slumping to the ground. Tor slashed his sword, slicing the werelupe's throat. He looked over at Roberta just as she ripped the dagger from her opponent's eye and cut off his pained howl by slicing its throat. It dropped to the ground, dead.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, you?"

"Yeah." He looked at the now sealed entrance and stepped forward.

"Well now what?" Roberta questioned, seeing the stone wall again.

"Sic transit Gloria mundi," Tor said. And immediately the stone began sliding down again. He grinned at Roberta and pointed to his ears.

"Thus passes away the glory of the world," Roberta whispered. "Rather, worldly things do not last."

"Huh. So that's what that means? I wonder how the assassin knew the password."

"Don't know. But we should hide these and get moving."

Tor nodded and threw the two he killed over both shoulders. His knees sagged slightly under the massive weight, but it wasn't too bad. Roberta on the other hand, was stuck dragging the last body across the sand. They waded through the waves until Tor was up to his knees and Roberta up to her waist. His armor didn't rust and her robes were charmed to repel water. They dumped the bodies into the ocean and let them drift off. As sad as it was, nobody would pay much mind to any werelupe that washed up on the beach. It wasn't exactly common, but it wasn't rare either to stumble upon a body of one.

They walked back to the tunnel and covered up any sign of a struggle. Tor looked into the darkness. It seemed to curve to the side shortly after the entrance. "Ready?" he asked.

"Ready."

He walked into the darkness and led the way, feeling around with his arms. After the first bend, Tor realized why the legend named this place the Golden Caves. On the walls torches hung in holders that were drilled into the stone. The tunnel widened into a circular room and everywhere there were barrels filled with jewels and neopoints. There was gold and silver, pearls, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and diamonds, anything that held any value that Tor could think of. He looked at Roberta who was staring around in wonder.

"This is amazing! Look around Tor! There's got to be more here!"

And indeed when Tor looked down the two tunnels that split off from the circular room, everything seemed golden.

**A/N: And another chapter down. Sweet. I'm finding this story more and more interesting to write. The next chapter will contain quite a bit of fighting, as you can imagine. I mean, if you've played the game then I'm sure you did a lot of killing when it came to infiltrating the werelupe lair. **


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie.

Chapter 12

Tor tore his eyes from all of the treasure. They were on a mission. One day they would return and collect what they could, but now wasn't the time. He looked down both of the tunnels that split off from the room, wondering which one they should take. It had been agreed that this time they wouldn't split up if they could help it. If Roberta were to find Lucy then she still wouldn't have the antidote. Not to mention that it was very likely that they might have a run in with the Assassin. If it were to happen, they would stand a better chance if they were together. Tor had already been stabbed once.

"What now?" Roberta asked. "I didn't expect this to happen so soon."

"Me neither." Tor looked between the tunnels hoping for some type of clue. Back in the previous lair the main passageways had been marked with skulls. This time they weren't. "And I would rather not have to go one way and have to back track later because we took the wrong one."

"Well we have to make a decision now!"

Tor began to pace back and forth, examining everything that he could. The one on the left sloped downward while the one on the right seemed to go up, which slightly confused him. How high could it possibly go? Did it go straight to the top of the cliff? Tor frowned. "I say we go down."

"Fine with me. Lead the way, Tor."

Their footsteps were light as they moved from shadow to shadow. It seemed that the place was built rather like the lair in Werelupe Woods as far as the way the tunnels opened up into rooms. There were other false tunnels too, leading only to dead ends, causing the two to have to back track. They encountered many werelupes, all of whom had been killed in their sleep. It wasn't Tor's favorite way to do things as the werelupes had no clue that it was even coming before they fell victim. They spared only the children as neither could bring themselves to harm them. It was less honorable than killing the sleeping beasts.

Tor sliced the throat of a large werelupe and dropped the body back onto the ground with a dull thud. That was the last one for this particular room. He looked over at Roberta who was wiping her brow with her arm. Her wand was in one hand, the dagger in her other. She looked sadly at a young werelupe, still asleep without any knowledge of what was happening. Tor made sure that it wasn't Lucy, hoping that he would recognize his sister, even as a werelupe. He pointed down to another tunnel to the right of him and Roberta nodded.

A squeaky howl reached his ears, echoing down the tunnel. Tor grabbed Roberta and hit behind a barrel filld, overflowing with gold. He crouched down, making an effort to be as small as possible. But he didn't hear any footsteps coming toward them, just that same pained howl. A gruff voice followed. "Shut up already, will ya?" Following was a loud crack and a whimper.

"Take it easy on her Luke," A more feminine voice admonished who was apparently Luke. "You were turned too! You know it's not easy."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't know why the king is making us guard her though. Not like she can bust out of that cage by herself. And even if she did, at this point she'd be more like the pack than her little farmer family."

Tor's eyes widened and exchanged a shocked glance with Roberta. They were talking about Lucy! His sister had been turned. He felt the glimmer of hope he'd previously felt during their travels burn out. At this point Lucy wouldn't even recognize him. He forced himself to sit still for just a few more moments and listen.

"Why do we even listen to that gelert in the first place? He's not even one of us!"

"Quiet Mary!" Luke hissed. "If he hears you you'll be killed."

"It's better than this! Alcasar had the right idea!"

Tor frowned. It seemed that not everybody was happy with the Assassin being their king. He turned his head to look at Roberta who mirrored his thoughtful expression. "We can't sit here like this," he said under his breath. "We've got to act now."

"I know. I say we stick to the shadows as much as we can. Attack when their backs are turned."

Tor nodded once and inched forward, around the barrel. The voices had come from a smaller tunnel that branched off to the right. Judging from the way the echoes sounded, it was just a short tunnel with a smaller cave at the end. He peeked around the side and saw two large forms pacing in front of a cage. He had to hold back a growl as he slipped into the tunnel, pressed against the wall. There were no torches here so it was easy for the two of them to blend. They moved quickly and quietly, sliding into the cave on one of the rotations that the guards took. They were strangely precise, Tor noticed, taking about ten seconds to walk one way before spinning around and going the other way, passing one another in the middle. He crouched behind one boulder to the right of the entrance while Roberta took cover behind another barrel to the left.

He watched the paths the guards were taking closely. Another ear splitting howl erupted from within the cage and Luke bashed on the bars with his bone club. That's when Tor made his moved, darting out from behind the boulder, his sword drawn. Roberta acted at the same time, casting a dark spell that hit Mary right between the shoulder blades. Luke whipped around to see his friend dead, but before he could do anything, Tor's sword was through his throat, protruding from the back of his neck. Tor wrenched his sword to the side, ripping it free. Blood splattered across his face and he attempted to wipe it away, succeeding only in smearing it into his fur.

"You alright?" Roberta asked, coming to stand next to him.

"Yeah." Tor nodded and stared at her for a moment before turning to look inside the cage. He barely recognized the creature as his sister. Her fur was now a dark brown and matted, her lips drawn back in a snarl as she backed into the corner of the cage and her wild eyes now colored a deep red. She was still wearing the pink dress from the night of the party, though now it was dirty and shredded. Tor took the vial from around his neck. "She won't recognize me," he said sadly. He took a few steps back. "Blast the lock off the cage," he ordered.

Roberta didn't look so sure. "Tor, that's not your sister anymore. She's going to—"

"I know." He handed her the vial. "Just do it." He crouched into a defensive position, his sword now sheathed. He wasn't going to hurt Lucy. Roberta sighed and took aim. A beam of red light shot from her wand and the lock broke cleanly into two pieces. He cage door swung open and immediately Lucy charged. She slammed right into Tor's chest, carrying him off his feet. He grunted as he hit the ground and rolled over, planting himself on top of his sister. She continued to struggle, attempting to bite or scratch any part of him she could. One of her claws caught his cheek as she struck out wildly. Tor hissed and planted a knee on that arm to keep his hands free. He grabbed her around the muzzle and wrenched her jaws open. "Roberta! The potion!"

Roberta uncorked the vial and dumped it into Lucy's open mouth. There was a choking sound while she attempted to spit it out, but Tor clamped her mouth shut. She was forced to swallow. Tor and Roberta waited in anticipation. He noticed her struggles to escape growing weaker. Her blood red eyes closed and for a moment, all Tor could feel was panic.

And then, as if Queen Fyora herself had sent some miracle, her fur began to change. The shaggy brown slowly became shorter, beginning to turn into her natural golden color save for some dried blood where she'd been bitten. He began to shrink into her normal size and Tor shuffled to the side, staring at her face. Her elongated teeth shrank, disappearing back into her mouth. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open. Deep brown.

"Tor?" she croaked out softly.

The young lupe knight was overcome by a wave of emotion and he swept his sister up into his arms. "I'm here Lucy. We're going home."

"I knew you would save me! I knew it!"

Tor laughed, wiping a tear from his eye. "Of course I would! I saved you from Shadowglen, didn't I?"

Lucy didn't answer. She'd seen Roberta who was sitting to Tor's left. She launched herself from Tor's arms and at the startled acara. "Roberta! You came too!"

"Well I couldn't let your brother come alone!" Roberta said warmly, looking over Lucy's shoulder at Tor with teary eyes. "But now isn't the time for this. We have to get out of here."

Tor nodded in agreement. Soon the sun would be rising again. They had to leave before that happened. He got to his feet and helped Roberta up. "Yeah, let's go. Get on my back, Lucy. We've got to hurry." He bent down to let his sister crawl up onto his back. Then with a small smile at Roberta, he set off, back down the tunnel.

….

The going was easy. None had woken yet so the bodies hadn't yet been found. Lucy had hid her eyes in Tor's armored back as Roberta had told her to. Neither wanted the small lupe to see what they had done. Tor feared that she might be scarred for life, though rationally he knew that wouldn't be true. Lucy had always been adventurous and the sight of blood didn't scare her. Their mother had been the nurse around the farms and Lucy had been her helper on many occasions.

Tor sighed with relief when he saw the first room they had come to upon entering the caves. It was just up ahead and soon they would be out. In the event that they ran into trouble it would be hard to fight with Lucy anywhere near him. He didn't want her getting hurt again, and especially not bitten. Their whole mission would have gone to waste and the thought of doing it over again made Tor feel slightly depressed. He shook his head to clear the thought away as they stepped into the circular room.

The sound of footsteps made Tor look to his left. There coming from the entrance of the second passageway that went up stood four werelupes. They all stared at one another in shock for a few moments. Then one howled, "INTRUDERS!"

Tor dropped Lucy onto the ground and ran forward with his sword drawn. He stabbed one through the chest and kicked another that had come up behind him, sending it staggering back. A dagger whizzed through the air by his ear and sank into another's skull. Tor wrenched his sword free, and slashed at the one he'd kicked, ripping open its stomach. The werelupe tried desperately with his large paws to hold the wound closed, but blood continued spilling onto the stone floor. Soon it dropped with the other three. Already Tor could hear the pounding of footsteps from the rest of the pack. He picked up Lucy and began to run.

"Sic transit gloria mundi!" he shouted as he ran, causing the entrance to reveal itself. He ran through, followed by Roberta who was casting spells behind her to keep the werelupes at bay. The sun was beginning to rise, bathing them in an orange glow. Tor kept on running until he heard a shriek behind him. He skidded in the sand as he turned around. Roberta lay on the ground, a werelupe hovering over her. She hurriedly cast a spell and it flew back from the force of it, landing about twenty feet away. Tor helped Roberta to stand, but her leg had been bitten badly.

Roberta swore under her breath as she stumbled. "Dammit Tor!"

Tor looked behind him. They'd had a good lead to begin with, but the pack was gaining on them. Without a word he picked Roberta up and continued running. "Hang on tight Lucy!" he said to his sister who was practically choking him with the grip she had around his neck.

"Tor this is just going to slow us down!"

"Shut up, Roberta! We're still ahead!" Tor ground out, wishing that he'd carried a Meerca Speed potion with him. Sand wasn't easy to run across to begin with, but carrying Roberta and Lucy was making it harder. He rounded the side of the cliff and was relieved to see the rope gun still hanging there. However when he saw a large brown shape climbing down the side of the cliff, his heart nearly stopped. How was he supposed to fight like this? "No! This can't be happening!"

"Wait!" Roberta gasped. "That's Alcasar! He followed us!"

Tor's eyes widened and he realized that his companion was right! He stopped at the base of the cliff and set Roberta on the ground. Lucy jumped off and Tor hurried to get the backpacks which he pushing into Roberta's arms, just as Alcasar dropped the last few feet to the ground.

"Got yourself into a bit of trouble, didn't you?"

"Naturally," Tor answered. He looked over his shoulder, shocked at how close the pack was. "Roberta, take Lucy and the packs and go up to the top!"

"What about you? I can't leave you here!"

"Yes you can!" Tor hissed, drawing his sword again. He swung his shield off his back and gripped it in his left hand. "I'll be fine! Alcasar and I will hold them back. Wait at the top. Alright?"

"You had better come back, Tor!" Was all Roberta said.

Tor didn't wait to see if she obeyed, but faced the pack instead. "You ready for this, Alcasar?"

"Yes. We'll hold them back. Don't let them reach the cliff."

With that the two ran forward and jumped into battle. Tor slashed his sword in timed strokes rather than the wild swings he had once used before learning the ways of fighting from Master Torak. He cut down werelupe after werelupe, blocking their attacks with his shield. He leaped over a dead body and plunged his blade into another's shoulder. It ran off, howling with pain.

It seemed like an eternity before Tor heard a loud howl, signaling for the rest of the pack to retreat. His muscles were sore and he had another gash on his right cheek, joining the once his sister had given him. Tor watched the pack run away before looking over at Alcasar who bore several minor wounds, but nothing bad. His bone club was covered with blood.

"You alright?" there kind werelupe asked as Tor put his shield onto his back.

"Yeah. You?"

"First time I've fought in a long while."

Tor nodded and took out his gloves from the belt on his waist. He strapped them tightly around his wrists and walked toward the cliff. "I'm guessing that you can climb fairly easily judging from how you got down here."

"Indeed. These claws can be rather useful you know."

Tor grinned and jumped up, gripping a hold on the rock tightly. His father really did come up with some good inventions. Tor was easily able to climb his way up the stone face at the same pace as Alcasar. Twice his feet slipped, but the gloves enabled him to keep a good grip that ensured he didn't fall to his death. Finally Tor pulled himself up over the side and he lay there, catching his breath.

"Are you alright?" Roberta asked worriedly, hovering over him. He smiled at her.

"Tired is all. How about your leg?"

"Lucy bandaged it for me. Tor, you had better not do something so idiotic like that ever again, unless you want me to—" Her words were cut off by a whimper from Lucy who had caught sight of Alcasar and was now cowering away from the werelupe. Roberta moved from Tor's side over to Lucy's and said quietly, "It's alright, Lucy. Alcasar is a good guy. He just saved us from the pack. You're safe."

Lucy cast a wary glance at Alcasar who kept a respectful distance. "Promise?"

"I promise. He won't hurt you."

Tor watched his sister latch onto Roberta's leg. Lucy had trusted Roberta completely from the first time they'd ever met back when they freed the farms of the purple clouds. Roberta in turn adored Lucy and once told Tor that she was like a little sister to her. Slowly Tor got to his feet. "We have to keep moving and get as far away from this place as we can. We're still much too close for my taste."

Once Lucy had climbed onto his back again, they set off. "You want to know what Tor?" Lucy asked.

"What?"

"I didn't notice it before, but you really stink."

…..

It was another two days before they reached the home of Alcasar and Bredda. The she-lupe had been waiting for them at the entrance and had immediately welcomed the travelers into her home. Lucy had easily gotten past the fact that they were werelupes and got along well with Nym and Medea. Tor could hear them playing as he washed his wounds using water he'd collected from a nearby stream. One of the werelupes had managed to get through his armor, giving him a deep gash on his back. He would need Meridell's armorer to fix that for him. She was the best around and had been eyeing his strange armor for over a year.

"That looks painful," Roberta commented as she made her way down the hill on a makeshift crutch. Bredda had dressed the bite on her leg and it would heal quickly with the help of one of their many potions. Tor would use the same on his own wounds.

"Yeah. Damn werelupe got through my armor."

"Here, give me the cloth." Tor handed her the rag he'd been using and she soaked it in the water. He winced when she gently cleaned away the dried blood, getting close to the tender flesh. "Don't be a wimp," she scolded good humoredly.

Tor gaped. "I am not a wimp!"

Roberta laughed. "You flinch at a bit of water!"

"It hurts!"

"Wimp!" the sorceress sang. Tor cupped his hands and filled them with water from the barrel and tossed it over his shoulder. It splashed Roberta in the face and she shrieked. "You jerk!" she snapped, whipping his arm with the cloth. Tor bent over with his hands on his knees as he laughed loudly, unable to help himself. "And to think I came down here to help you," she muttered, crossing her arms as a drop of water dripped from her chin.

"You definitely asked for it," Tor said, still sporting a large grin.

Roberta rolled her eyes. "Turn around. Your wound still needs to be cleaned."

Tor chuckled and faced away from her and looked to the woods. He couldn't help but keep his ears pricked for any sounds, even though they had left the pack far behind. You never knew what could happen.

"I think that one day after all this is over, we need to go back there and retrieve the treasure that was stolen from Brightvale," Roberta suggested. "That treasure has been missing for decades and now it's finally been found, but we can't even take it."

"I agree with you there Roberta. It needs to be returned. And hey, we might even get a reward for doing it!"

Roberta smacked his shoulder lightly. "Trust you to think of the money. It's not about being rewarded! Besides, not everything down there was stolen from Brightvale. It wouldn't hurt to keep it for ourselves."

"I like the way you think!"

"And I think you've been spending too much time around Meridell's thieves!"

Tor chucked and lifted his arms as Roberta began wrapping bandages around his chest to cover up the wound. She had applied the potion to it already and Tor immediately felt the somewhat soothing sting. He sighed and lowered his arms. Roberta handed him his shirt and he pulled it over his head. "Thanks for the help."

"Well I highly doubt you would have accomplished it by yourself."

"Dinner!"

Tor looked up the hill at Bredda's call. He bowed his head to Roberta. "After you, Lady Roberta."

"Why thank you Sir Tormund." Roberta said graciously, though there was humor in her voice. Tor followed her up the hill and into the cave where Alcasar, Nym, Medea, and Lucy were already circled around the fire. He and Roberta joined them, Tor seated between Roberta and Alcasar. Bredda passed out wooden bowls to all of them and they each waited their turn to ladle a hearty meat stew into their bowls.

"Did you run into the Assassin at all?" Alcasar asked. Over the two days of walking back to Alcasar's cave they hadn't spoken very much about what happened in the lair of the werelupes, preferring to wait until they were all comfortable and alone.

"No," Tor shook his head. "And though I would like to face him as soon as I can, I'm glad we didn't. Roberta and I were already tired and Lucy was with us. Getting her out of there was the main goal."

Alcasar nodded slowly, glancing at the young lupe, giggling along with his daughters as the flicked bits of stew into the fire. "I find it strange that he didn't show himself."

"He may not have been there at all," Roberta said. "Actually there is a very good chance that he wasn't. He's highly trained in old magics in which I myself have only scratched the surface of and many of them are dark. He can teleport himself over long distances using a technique I believe is called Smoke Step."

"I just say disappearing into purple clouds," Tor cut in, flashing Roberta a grin. And then he frowned. "Wait, you've used dark magic?"

Roberta gave him a serious look. "Tor, we were out of touch for nearly a year and many things happened. Most scorcerers to dabble in dark magic, that way they know it's properties and can fight it. The problem is that some lose their way and the darkness takes over. Even I have felt the pull of it, especially when fighting the werelupes. Every dark spell one ccasts brings them deeper into it, but as long as you have the will, you can fight it off." She gave a deep sigh and sent Tor a sad look. "You've used it too Tor, every time you used a mote of dark properties. You probably haven't felt the pull because motes, though powerful, aren't a very concentrated source of magic.

"Anyway, he can use that technique to teleport himself to wherever he wants; although there are limits as to how far you can travel in one go. Right now it is suspected that he's put himself in charge of the Ixies out near Cogham. He might have been there, but we haven't had contact with Meridell since leaving the Kingdom."

"This man must be stopped quickly!" Bredda gasped. "He'll cause a war if this keeps up!"

"I'm sure that's exactly what he's planning," Tor agreed. "He's extremely powerful, nearly up to the Darkest Faerie's standards. She even chose him to take out Roberta and me when we were trying to free the lands of her magic. And he's held a grudge against me ever since I nearly beat him. He transported away before I was able to finish him off."

"Coward," Alcasar growled. "If he had any honor then he would have accepted his loss with dignity instead of running away!"

"He's also a dirty fight," Roberta said. "He uses Smoke Step to confuse his opponents, showing up behind them."

"I wish I could learn that," Tor muttered.

"Well I'm sure you could actually. Everyone has the ability to use magic, but with the amount of work and concentration involved, Most don't have the time."

Tor frowned. "Really? I always thought that only few neopets are born with the ability."

"Not true, though that's what most think. Some just have a stronger hold on their magic and show it in accidental ways."

"Hm." Tor grunted. He placed his empty bowl on the ground in front of him and fell onto his back as he stretched his arms behind his head. "Well maybe I ought to get into that. It would give me a bit of an advantage."

Alcasar nodded sagely. "From what you've said the Assassin will not underestimate you any longer. You will need every advantage you can get."


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie

Chapter 13

Two days went by as the three travelers stayed with Alcasar's family. They needed time for their wounds to heal up a little before they could begin traveling, especially Roberta who could barely walk without her crutch. Lucy's own wound hardly showed any signs of healing, though Tor wasn't too surprised. It had been the bite that turned her into a werelupe and probably still held the poisons that made the change. He would have to speak to Angus about it when they returned.

"Hey Tor," Roberta whispered on the third day at the den. Tor had been sitting outside on one of the boulders around the back side out the cave. From the distance he couldn't see the turrets he was looking for, but he knew that Meridell was only a few days away. He turned to look questioningly at Roberta and saw her holding the chest piece of his armor. She turned it around to show him the completely mended back plate. "Magic is very helpful at times," She said with a smile at Tor's shocked expression.

"Thanks Roberta!" The knight said as he jumped from the boulder, his ever handy sword bumping against his leg. He took the chest piece and inspected it closely, seeing no sign that it had ever been penetrated. "I love magic."

Roberta laughed and nodded. "As do I. It tends to make life rather easy at times. It wasn't especially hard with your armor though, as it's already infused with Light magic. I'm sure that your armor has been growing as you grow."

Tor nodded and remembered their talk with Alcasar and Bredda over stew. "Can I really use that teleportation technique?"

Roberta looked at him in surprise before nodding slowly. "It's Dark magic, but yes, it's very possible." She sat down in the grass, crossing her legs and Tor followed suit, setting his armor to the sighed and leaning forward to listen. "See, I can sense your magic power the same way I was able to sense the magic at work when we were finding the entrance to the tunnels. It's something that sorcerers and sorceresses are trained to do. Seradar taught me before I had even learned how to cast spells. You have a rather high magical prowess, even though it's rarely used. You really put it into effect when you use motes in battle."

Tor thought their months of fighting minions and monsters. Always he had motes equipped to his armor and sword, just as Master Torak had taught him. Tor had always found it easier to fuse motes than the other knights. Slowly he began to nod. "Yeah, I noticed. I haven't seen any of the other knights have any effects from using motes in the way I did. I never thought too much about it though."

"See? You were always able to go much longer when using motes too than most neopets. Any magic used drains your energy, especially when used effectively such as when you use the right elements. Werelupes are fire elementals, so water motes work best against them, as we discovered."

Tor chuckled. "We used every mote we had to try and find out what element they were. I never would have guessed Fire."

Roberta smiled. "Yes. Now, onto the Smoke Step. I can't teach it to you yet, you still have to learn some basic things about magic. Once we return to Meridell though, there is a book in the castle library that has information in it."

"Alright. Teach me then, Professor Roberta." Tor joked, leaning back against the boulder.

With a laugh Roberta rolled her eyes. "Alright, we'll start with the properties of magic. As you know there are different shades of magic. Light, Dark, and an area in between known as Grey. While many forms Dark magic are not strictly forbidden, unlike the magic used by the Darkest Faerie, they are frowned upon. In my opinion however, there shouldn't be a classification for spells such as Light and Dark. All motes for example, may be either Light or Dark Magic, depending on what they are used for. A water mote, classified as Light, may still be used to kill. A shadow mote or a dark mote is classified as Dark magic because they are indeed, dark. Light motes are obviously classified as Light magic, even though they can cause harm. You getting me so far?"

Tor nodded. "Three shades of magic, Light, Grey, and Dark. Motes are either Dark or Light though, so wouldn't that make them Grey?"

"You would think so, but most neopets don't even consider that there is a Grey area."

"Alright, so what about the teleportation spell? How is that Dark Magic?"

"It's considered Dark because it defies the laws of the universe, speaking in simple turns. By using Smoke Step you open a void in time and step through, reappearing in another place at that very instant. The void opening and closing releases an air of Dark Magic which creates the purple smoke."

"Whoa… that's… really strange. But I can see why it's Dark. But is it one of the forbidden magics?"

"Not forbidden, no. But widely frowned upon and thought to be unnatural. Some even say that it should have never been created. We've witnessed firsthand what purple clouds represent. However, mostly because it's you, I don't think that many neopets will mind you using it. Besides, like Alcasar said, we need every advantage we can get."

"I know. And still our chances will be slim. I noticed at the party in Brightvale that he's gotten much stronger than I last fought him. I didn't have a chance against him that night, and I was lucky that I got away alive. If it weren't for your magic, I _wouldn't_ be alive."

Roberta just sent him a sad look. "I'd rather not think of that Tor. We've both gotten stronger since that night, training for hours a day. That night we were unprepared for something like that to happen, you were weakened, and you were worried about your sister."

Tor shivered as he recalled the night. Everything had been going so smoothly, everyone was happy. He'd met some old friends that he hadn't seen for a year, he'd been happy. His parents had been happy. Lucy was having the time of her life. Then while he and Roberta danced, everything had gone straight to hell with the attack. He'd tried to fight off the assassin, but hadn't been strong enough. "It won't happen again," he said with determination. "If I die, he goes down with me."

…..

Another day passed before Roberta decided that they couldn't possibly wait any longer. They had been gone for far too long already, over two weeks. It would be another week before they could get out of the woods and three more days of traveling the road to Meridell. Roberta still had to use her crutch which would slow them down even more, and Tor knew that he would be unable to carry Lucy the entire time.

It was early in the morning that the travelers set off, Tor and Roberta carrying their bags, and Roberta still on her crutch. They were saying their goodbyes for what very well might be the last time. Lucy was having a particularly hard time, having easily befriended Nym and Medea. All three children had been begging that they stay another day, but it just wasn't possible. War was about to break loose and they couldn't just hide out in the woods.

"Thank you for everything, Alcasar, Bredda," Roberta said, reaching out and shaking their large paws. "I hope to see the both of you again."

Alcasar smiled sadly, showing off his large teeth. "False hopes I believe. We cannot leave these woods, less risk being killed."

"There was actually one of your kind who lived in Meridell for a time," Tor informed him. "He fought in the battle arena for extra money. Most never bothered him."

Bredda shook her head. "Our place is here, Tormund."

Tor nodded in understanding. Alcasar put a large hand on his shoulder and said, "I must speak to you for a few moments, over there." Tor looked at him, confused and followed him away from the others. The werelupe spoke in a low voice so that the women couldn't hear him. "Should this come to war, as we both know it will, I will fight on the side of Meridell and Brightvale."

Tor's shock showed on his face. He shook his head vigorously. "I can't ask you to do that."

"I didn't ask for your permission. I will fight with you. These are not the same werelupes that I once knew and the pack alone outnumbers the amount of men you have on your side." He glanced at Roberta, watching them with Bredda. Only Bredda seemed to know what was happening, a sad smile on her face. "And women. With the Ixies also on his side, the odds tilt even more to the Assassin's side. You will need all of the help you can get, and I would be happy to give it."

The lupe knight nodded once and gripped Alcasar's shoulder with his right hand. "Very well. Should you ever come to the Kingdom of Meridell, I will tell the guards to look out for you."

The two walked back to the others and Roberta looked at him curiously, but he said nothing, dipping his head to the adult werelupes. "Thank you again for all of your help. Should you ever need anything, come to Meridell and ask for Sir Tormund."

"The same goes for me," Roberta added. She kneeled down next to Lucy. "It's time to go, Lucy. Nym, Medea."

"No!" the three wailed together.

Had Tor ever flat out 'no' to one of Roberta's orders, he probably would have got himself a smack to the head. But here Roberta only spoke in a soft voice. "Yes. We have to go back. Lucy your parents miss you so much. You don't want them to worry, do you?"

"No," Lucy sniffled.

"Then we have to get moving as soon as we can."

It took a few minutes, stretching their good-byes out longer than necessary. Then the three neopets took their leave. Lucy hopped onto Tor's shoulders, making him sigh deeply and Roberta giggle quietly. It was going to be a long trip.

….

Eight more days were spent picking their way through the dense forest. Lucy still jumped at every sound that came through the trees and Tor couldn't help but tease her endlessly for it. They didn't speak much, not having anything to speak about. He and Roberta still took guard shifts when it came time to sleep and Lucy was able to sleep through the night.

As they emerged from the forest and onto the dirt roads that would eventually lead them to Meridell, Tor wondered what they would find upon arriving. Had the Ixies attacked? Would anymore knights or guards be gone when they arrived? These thoughts worried him more and more, creating a deeper scowl as time wore on. He couldn't help where his thoughts led him, but he knew that he had to put more faith in the knights of Meridell. They were some of the strongest men he knew of and it wasn't fair to be thinking such low thoughts of them.

"Tor, if you keep scowling like that I might have to hit you. It's not very flattering."

Tor looked over at Roberta. Her crutch was now gone and she had placed Lucy on her shoulders to give him a break. The scowl disappeared from his face immediately. "I can't help it," he told her.

"Just stop thinking. I know you too well, and I know what you're thinking, so just don't think."

"Yes, because that's so easy," Tor said sarcastically.

"Better than thinking worst case scenario." Roberta shot back. Lucy was now looking between the two of them. She looked confused, her innocence stopping her from really understanding what they were arguing about. Tor shut his mouth tight and stared straight ahead of him. He really wanted this journey to be over. He wanted to see his parents' faces when they saw Lucy. Was his mother eating properly yet? How many times had the water pump broken since he was gone? Were the other farmers of Meri Acers mourning the loss of Lucy? She was loved by all of the farmers. Tor's thought were cut off when something smashed into the back of his head.

"Roberta!"

"I warned you."

Tor wanted badly to make some retort, but held himself back. Lucy was there, and he didn't want to be blamed for any foul language his sister picked up. Roberta smiled victoriously and there was a slight jump to her step now as she walked. If he knew that Roberta wouldn't try and get him back later, he'd have tripped her. Instead he just said casually, "Now that we're out of the woods, we should use that Meerca Speed potion. I've got three doses for the each of us. That ought to have us there by tomorrow morning if we stop to rest for the night."

"I think that sounds like a good idea. I forgot that you actually get them sometimes."

Tor scowled again but stopped when Roberta raised her fist. He slung his pack off his shoulders and began digging around as they walked. He pulled out various bottles of potions until he found two bottles of the Meerca Speed. He handed one to Roberta and popped the cork out of his. "Bottoms up!" He said, downing a third of the potion. Immediately he could feel his legs vibrating as the potion kicked in. He dropped the vials back into the bag.

"Hang on tight Lucy," Roberta ordered.

Tor was sure that they could hear Lucy's screams all the way in Brightvale.

…

Just as Tor had predicted, the next morning they were nearing the city gates when the last of the potion wore off. Tor and Roberta, panting heavily from their run, slowly walked up to the gate. The knight lifted his sister from his shoulders so that she could walk on her own. They approached the iron gates and Tor recognized the guardsmen, Henry and Yavik. They were tense at the sight of Tor, not quite recognizing him or Roberta from the distance. But once they drew closer they began calling out to them in joy.

"Tor! Lady Roberta! You've returned!" Yavik cried loudly, raising his spear in celebration. "And you've gotten your sister!"

Tor grinned at the guards. "Yeah. Most of it was just traveling, but we found the werelupes' lair."

"And the Assassin?" Henry asked quietly.

Roberta shook her head. "He wasn't there. We must speak to King Skarl about it."

"Of course, of course!" Henry nodded and he and Yavik hurried to open the gates. The three stepped through, thanking the guards, and set off through the city.

There were many similar greetings from the townspeople and patrolling knights and guards, all cheering in celebration at the heroes' return. Tor promised that he would see them all later and tell them a few stories, but first he had to see the king. They were all slightly disappointed, but excited at the thought of hearing the story of the journey.

When the three reached the castle they were greeted by guardsmen Laertes and Oliver who immediately bowed and opened the doors. Lucy was by now in awe of her brother and all of his admirers. Was all this really all for Tor, her older brother who had played with her on the farm and done all of her work when their parents weren't looking? It was something she had never expected, and yet here she was, witnessing it. Tor led her up the stairs onto the first floor.

"I thought we were going to see the King," the young lupe said, staring up between Tor and Roberta.

"Roberta and I are," Tor answered as he nodded in greeting to Lady Leonarda. "You need to rest. I'll take you around the city tomorrow. Then the next day we'll go back to the farm."

"You're going to stay?" Lucy asked hopefully. Tor looked down at her wearily as he opened the door to his personal chamber.

"I can't. There are things that I have to do. But when it's over I'll come back to visit for a little while." He lifted Lucy onto his bed.

"How long will that be?"

"I don't know. Hopefully it won't be too long though."

Lucy looked over at Roberta who stood on the other side of the bed, opposite of Tor. "Will you come too Roberta?"

The blue acara smiled warmly. "Maybe."

Soon, once Tor had made sure that Lucy would be as comfortable as possible, they went back downstairs to see the king. Korbin and Hector were standing guard and they stood straight when Tor and Roberta approached. "Sir Tormund, Lady Roberta," Korbin greeted them.

"You've come to speak with His Majesty then?" Hector asked. "I heard that your mission was successful."

Tor nodded. "It was. May we go in?"

"Of course."

King Skarl sat upon his throne, tapping his large fingers on the arm in wait. Master Torak stood tall next to the seat. Tor and Roberta kneeled down respectfully before standing up again. "Well get on with it," King Skarl grumbled impatiently.

"The mission was successful, Your Majesty," Roberta began before Tor could even open his mouth. Tor found it somewhat strange that King Skarl was her uncle as well as King Hagan, but she addressed King Skarl much more formally than King Hagan. The few times she had met with the blue skeith king he had brushed her off as he would anybody else. "We tracked down the caves that the werelupes are using. They require a password to enter."

"Where are these caves?" Master Torak asked.

"Off to the East between Meridell and Brightvale. You pass Werelupe Woods and move straight into the forest on the eastern side," Tor answered. "It's about an eight day trip through the forest and you will come to a cliff. It's about sixty feet from the top to the beach below. Down at the bottom there are the caves that Roberta spoke of. Like she said there was a password that would grant you entrance."

"And the password?" King Skarl asked. His eyes sparked with sudden interest.

"_Sic transit gloria mundi._"

"Strange," Torak murmured. "Do you know what it means?"

"It's from an old language. It means 'thus passes away the glory of the world'," Roberta said. "Tor was able to hear one of the werelupes speak the password."

"And how did they know of it?" the King asked. "You informed me that these caves were the hideout of some rotten thief."

Tor shook his head. "We don't know of the connection yet."

"Very well. From what you said I take it that the mission to retrieve Lucy Ellis was successful then?"

"Yes. She'd been turned when we found her, but Angus from the apothecary had created a potion he believe would cure those who have been bitten. His potion worked and we were able to turn Lucy back to normal."

King Skarl stroked his large chin thoughtfully. "Interesting. That potion may come in handy. Torak, summon Angus."

"Yes, sire."

"Now, you two, leave me now to speak with Master Torak of what is to be done. And send the servants to fetch me some food."

Tor and Roberta bowed deeply before retreating from the room. Hector and Korbin closed the doors behind them and Tor looked at Roberta. They both sighed. "Head down to the pub?" Tor asked even though he was well aware of the answer.

"Definitely."

Calling over Servant Gottard Tor told the yellow Kacheek that the King was hungry, causing the servant to scurry away to the kitchens. Twenty minutes later the two found themselves in the pub with Ebard, Rufus, Grayson, Shanra, and Lawrence. All had a drink in their hand, celebrating the successful return of the knight and sorceress. Tor and Roberta told their story, even the parts about Alcasar and Bredda, the friendly werelupes, going into detail about their journey through the caves.

"No way!" Grayson denied. "There's no way that you went through all that undetected! Their sense of smell is ten times better than that of a regular lupe!"

Tor and Roberta shared a sheepish look. "Well…" Tor said slowly, feeling himself heat up with embarrassment. "We managed to hide our scents."

"How'd you manage that?" Ebard asked interestedly, sensing the two's humiliation.

"We… ah… used the rotted prey that was left over from one of their meals."

For a second everyone was silent, processing the information. And then they all burst out laughing. It was several minutes before the laughter subsided and many other patrons were looking at them curiously. When the loud guffaws finally died down Lawrence asked, "So what happened after you got Lucy?"

"We went back the way we came. And just when we almost out, we ran into a patrol. Tor and I killed them, but not before they alerted the entire pack that we were there. We ran out and we had a good lead, but they're damn fast and I got bit in the leg." Roberta lifted her leg onto an empty stood and rolled up her pant leg, revealing the deep wounds from the bite. Everyone winced, seeing the purple bruises.

"Shouldn't that be bandaged up?" Rufus asked.

Roberta shrugged. "I'll get around to it later."

"Anyway, I had to carry her and Lucy back to the rope gun. When we got there we saw Alcasar climbing down the cliff. He came to see if he might be needed, which he was. I sent Roberta and Lucy to the top of the cliff and Alcasar and I fought off the rest of the pack."

"Now I know you're just yanking my chain!" Grayson exclaimed. "Just two of you fighting off practically an entire pack of werelupes? Not possible."

"It's very possible when you know exactly how to fight them," Roberta said. "If I had been able to walk it would've gone much faster though."

"That's amazing!" Shanra said, looking at the two of them in wonder. What exactly had the two neopets experienced when fighting away the purple clouds that the Darkest Faerie had brought forth? There were very few known facts as neither of them had ever really said all that much about their first journey. What was known had come from other villages such as Cogham and Market Town, and most were infused with rumors that none could be sure were true.

"Now that I'm hearing it out loud, it does seem unbelievable," Roberta murmured and Tor nodded in agreement. "But all of it is true."

Tor groaned and stretched back in his seat. He took a deep gulp of his whiskey and set the empty glass back on the table. "I need to go see Angus. He ought to be back from his visit to the king by now." He looked at Roberta and asked, "Are you coming?"

The blue acara shook her head. "I'll see you at the castle."

Tor nodded once and set a handful of neopoints of the table before leaving the pub.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie.

Chapter 14:

"Angus!" Tor called out as he entered the shop. The stench of the potion brewing in the large cauldron assaulted his nose and he waved smoke away from his eyes. The red grarrl didn't appear to be anywhere in sight and Tor was about to leave when he suddenly popped up from behind the counter. There was a bright smile on his face at seeing the young knight.

"Tor! I've just gotten back from my meeting with King Skarl! So the potion worked, did it?"

Tor grinned and hopped up to sit on the edge of the counter. "It did. I can't thank you enough for what you've done."

Angus waved him off, settling down into his chair behind the counter. "Ah, after how much you've done for me this past year, it was the least I could do."

Tor shook his head. "You paid me very generously for all of those things. You still have my gratitude Angus."

The grarrl smiled, showing off his razor sharp teeth. "Enough of this. Tell me about your little adventure."

"It was more than a little adventure, Angus," the knight said with a small smile. Tor didn't feel the same weariness he normally did when having to tell a story multiple times. Angus was a good friend of his after all. He just settled himself more comfortably, leaning back against the wall. He began his tale and Angus listened with rapt attention, showing great interest when he heard about Alcasar. The apothecary was good at listening, never interrupting a story, just taking it all in. When Tor spoke of the ways he and Roberta killed the werelupes, there was horror etched across his face, but also understanding. There hadn't been much choice, and really, it would help the other knights in the upcoming battles.

"And the Assassin wasn't there?" Angus asked when Tor had finished his story.

The lupe shook his head. "Not that I know of. And it was probably a good thing. There's no way I would have been able to hold my own, let alone beat him. Roberta thinks the same way. He is too skilled with magic for any simple spells to make any effect. We'll have to train."

Angus tilted his head thoughtfully. "And why do you think that the Assassin will come after the two of you specifically?"

"Because I nearly beat him once, "Tor said simply. "He's got a grudge against me for that."

Angus nodded slowly, squinting at something out the window. The sky was growing dark and Tor wondered how long he'd been away from the castle. "And what is Roberta doing?" The apothecary asked suddenly causing Tor's eyes to snap back to him. "Is she going back to Brightvale?" Angus clarified.

Tor frowned. Had Roberta ever said anything about that? He didn't remember her doing so. "I don't know. We haven't spoken about it all that much. I know that she'll be here for a few days. We're bringing Lucy back to the farm the day after tomorrow. After that, I'm not quite sure." Tor looked back out the window. "I should be getting back to the castle." He reached out and shook Angus's hand. "I'll probably see you tomorrow."

"Of course."

Tor walked back to the castle slowly, enjoying the night air. He hoped that Lucy was still asleep and that she hadn't wandered around the castle. It might take hours to find her if that were to happen. As Tor walked into the town center just by the castle entrance, he saw another figure walking through the darkness and tensed. He kept walking forward, reaching the fountain at the same time as the figure. It was just Roberta.

"Oh, hey," he said. "I thought you'd have been back by now."

The acara shook her head, leaning against the side of the fountain. "I probably would have stayed longer, but Ebard looked to be getting a little too drunk and I didn't want to run into those problems."

Tor frowned. Ebard shouldn't be wasting time getting drunk with the threat hanging over them. Tor had been informed that Cogham had been attacked twice in the time he was gone. "I don't blame you. Come on." He nodded in the direction of the bridge. They waited for the guards to open the gates before walking in. The torches and candles were lit, giving off a faint light as they would throughout the night. Tor walked with Roberta to her room up on the third floor where the nobles of the castle stayed. Apparently Lord Edric and Lady Caitriona were in another one of their quarrels and Tor could hear them in another hallway arguing loudly. He rolled his eyes. Nobles.

He caught Roberta shoot a quick glare in the direction of the voices. "I swear, if this goes on all night I'm going to shut them both up. It's a very easy spell actually. And then I'm going to tie them up and lock them in the sewers."

Tor burst out laughing at the seriousness of her tone. "I think that the dungeons themselves will suffice."

Roberta put on a mock concerned expression. "But then poor Valrigard will have to suffer through it."

Tor coughed and grinned. "I'd say it would be better him than you. I'm the one who you'll take your lack of sleep out on."

Roberta pushed him gently before reaching behind her and opening the door. "Good night Tor," she said, backing into her room.

"Good night Roberta."

Tor walked back to his room, for once really appreciating that he didn't have to sleep in the Knights' Quarters, being a knight of first class. He looked at Lucy, still curled up in his bed. He took off his armor quietly, placing each piece on a stand close to his bed. Deciding not to bother his sister, Tor pulled out extra blankets and a pillow from a trunk at the side of the room and made a makeshift bed on the floor. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but after sleeping in a tent for over a week it was like sleeping on a cloud.

…

"To equip a mote to your sword, shield or armor, you must first ask for its permission," Tor explained to the two squires. The three of them stood in the training area, Zachariah and Dawson listening intently. Normally when training squires they would not learn the use of motes so early, but with the threat of war, Master Torak had ordered Tor to teach them for most of the morning. Roberta was currently touring Lucy around Meridell, which Tor wished he was doing. "If it agrees, then there will be a small pulse of magic."

"And if it doesn't agree?" Zachariah asked curiously. Tor looked at the techno whom he had battled in the arena. He hadn't been too surprised to find that he was now a squire.

"If the mote doesn't agree then apparently you are not using a mote," Tor answered. He kneeled down next to an ordinary looking crate and opened the lid. Inside there were six compartments each labeled with a symbol that showed the element of the motes it contained. He held his hand over the fire compartment and through a small hole, about the size of a neopoint, there was a small streak of orange light and a fire mote appeared, hovering over his hand. He pushed his hand through the air and the mote floated over to Dawson. "Try it."

The gelert looked confused. "How?"

"Just think it through your head. You're currently in contact with the mote, so it will hear you."

Dawson stared at the mote, a look of concentration on his face as though this was going to be the most important task of his life. A few seconds later Tor saw the mote glow bright for a moment and he knew that the mote had agreed. Dawson grinned. "Ok, now what?"

"Once it agrees to work with you, all you have to do is touch it to what you want to equip it to and it will bond. Do that with your shield. Zachariah, watch closely." Both squires nodded and Dawson picked up his shield from the ground, holding it with his free hand. He pushed the mote toward the shield where it seemed to melt into the metal, giving it an orange glow. Tor nodded in satisfaction. "Now, get ready."

"Huh?"

Tor looked up towards the walls where an archer was waiting with flaming arrows. He held up his fist as a sign to shoot and stepped to the side. Dawson still looked confused before he noticed the arrow flying toward him. His eyes widened and he quickly raised his shield. The arrow his, rebounding off and flying at a great speed back at the archer. Zachariah gasped and Tor nodded again. "Good. Now if you want to take the mote back, all you have to do is ask it and it will return. You might as well keep that one Dawson." Tor crossed his arms behind his back and addressed both squires. "Do either of you know why I might show you the use of a fire mote first?"

Blank faces were all Tor needed to know the answer.

"We are on the brink of war. Ixies and Werelupes are both fire elemental neopets. By equipping fire motes to your shield and armor will at the very least reduce damage from both. But by using a water mote on your sword, you will increase the damage given to your opponent. Right now there are others collecting water motes, bubble motes, fire motes, and lava motes, buying them or searching for them."

"Sir Tormund, what are nova motes exactly?" Zachariah asked.

Tor looked at the squire with a small frown of thought. "Nova motes, or Supernova Motes which are more potent, are created when all six motes meet in nature and bond together. As you can imagine, they're incredibly rare. You cannot create them yourself by taking all six and putting them together. They are, simply put, the ultimate mote. But they are also very rare and very expensive. Now there is one more thing I have for you today." Tor reached into the crate and extracted a light mote. He unsheathed his sword and equipped the mote to it. "This is hard, so don't worry if you don't get it right away."

He stepped a few feet away from the practice dummy. "Both of you stand clear. You can charge your motes and create a burst of energy that, should you use the correct mote, will damage your opponent greatly. I wouldn't normally do this in battle, but if you have the time, then I would take the chance. First I'll demonstrate, and then I will explain the process."

Tor took a fighting stance, his sword slightly raised as though he were about to swing. He could feel the power of the mote in his sword, sending small vibrations up his arm. _Lend me your power_. His sword began to glow, and then shake in his hand as the bright magic became visible. Tor swung his sword, pointing it at the dummy. Bright light burst from the tip, swirling toward the dummy and engulfing it. When the light disappeared the dummy had been torn to shreds, straw and cloth covering the ground. The squires were gaping.

"Now, imagine if that had been a water mote against a werelupe," Tor said, regaining their attention. "Now, you saw the stance I took. I learned that from Maser Torak when I was a squire and I found that if you are going to charge the mote, its more effective using that stance. All you have to do is ask the mote to lend you power. I'll leave you to figure the rest out." Tor grinned and walked away. He approached Lawrence and Prunella who had been watching not far away. "Keep an eye on those two. I don't want them destroying anything."

"And where are you going?" The techno asked.

"Roberta is taking Lucy around Meridell. I figured I would go find them before Roberta is overwhelmed."

The two chuckled and Lady Prunella said, "I briefly met your sister in the dining hall with Lady Roberta. She seemed very excited."

"Yeah," Tor nodded. That sounded accurate, though he hadn't been there himself. Lucy hadn't even been awake yet when he had been ordered to help train the squires. He looked over at their lack of results and smirked. "Lawrence, don't give them any tips. I'd like to see how long it takes them to figure it out on their own."

"Sure thing Tor."

….

He met Roberta outside of Inga's armory. She was leaning against the side of the building, watching Lucy run around with Ella and Gram, two young neopets about her age. Tor leaned against the wall next to Roberta and asked, "How long have you been standing here?"

The acara shrugged. "Maybe about fifteen minutes. We were walking and those two came up and asked if she was really your sister. From there those three just hit it off." Tor smiled. It seemed that Lucy could just make friends with anyone, even two werelupes. "She's rather like you actually. She just gets along with everyone. Everyone we've met so far seems to adore her."

"I wonder why. I always thought she was annoying."

Roberta laughed and elbowed him in the side. "Oh you miss her when you're here and she's still at the farm. You miss everyone out there."

Tor smiled. "I know. I was thinking about when we go to drop Lucy off that I might stay for an extra day."

Roberta frowned, unsure of that. "I don't know, Tor. What happens if the Assassin finally decides to bring on a full out attack?"

The Knight looked at his friend with a serious expression. "All the more reason to stay. If I were to die, I'd like to see those I grew up with one last time."

She just nodded in understanding. There was no point in arguing when Tor was right. There was a possibility of dying especially with the Assassin involved, and neither could deny it. "Alright, sure. We'll stay an extra day."

"You don't have to you know."

"I know that I don't have to Tor. But I want to." She shook her head in annoyance. "I have to go back to Brightvale sooner or later you know. My uncle worries worse than my mother."

Tor smirked. "Who's worse: your uncle or the servants?"

Roberta glared at him, though Tor knew it was more with humor than anger. "Don't ask me impossible questions."

Tor shook his head in acceptance and looked over at the three kids. When he was their age he was working his tail off around the farm. And when Lucy became old enough, he did her work as well as his own. Now that he was gone everybody had to pull their own weight to keep things going. The thought of the farm made Tor's ears droop and Roberta looked at him curiously. He caught her eye and sighed. "I'm wondering how my mother is doing."

The sorceress put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure she's fine. And imagine how happy she'll be when we show up with Lucy!" Tor grinned and nodded, turning his attention back to Lucy. Gram's mother Nadia was now standing across the street outside of her house also watching. Tor sat down on the ground, knowing that they might be there a while.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: (**CHAPTER SPOILER) In this chapter Tor and Roberta tell the story of the Darkest Faerie's defeat. Since I am sure you have played the game, you can skip over it if you want because it is basically a summary of the entire game told in the eyes of our favorite heroes.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie

Chapter 15

"But Tor, I don't want to leave yet! I want to play with Gram and Ella some more!"

Tor sighed in exasperation. They were approaching the north gates where two unis would be waiting for them. Lucy was on Tor's shoulders, her preferred place when they were traveling. Roberta was walking on his right, keeping silent, but there was a small smirk on her face that let Tor know she was amused. "Lucy, you have to go back. Mom and Dad have been worried sick about you. And it's no longer safe in Meridell." _Because it's so much safer at the farms, _he thought sarcastically.

"But you get to stay!"

Tor closed his eyes. "It's my duty to stay." He placed Lucy on the uni and hopped up behind her while Roberta got on her own. "Hold on tight!"

All of Lucy's complaining was gone and forgotten when they took to the air. It was replaced by screams of happiness. Right in Tor's ears. He could help but smile though. It seemed that over the past few days, Lucy had completely forgotten what she went through with the werelupes. It was as though in her mind, it never even happened.

Traveling by air was incredibly fast. It was maybe an hour and a half later that they were flying over Shadowglen woods. By then Lucy had quieted and was just staring in wonder. When Tor saw the top of one of the farms silos Tor ordered the uni to go down. Following Tor's lead, Roberta did the same and within a few seconds Tor felt the hooves hit the ground. He slowed the uni down as they entered the farmlands.

Old man Boggs was sitting on a rocking chair on the porch of his house, drinking deeply from a flask. He squinted out at Tor and Roberta, slowly setting his flask to the side. Tor waved and hopped off his uni as the yellow grarrl stepped off his porch. "Well, I must be seeing things. Is that really you Tor?"

"You're not seeing things, sir. And I have Lucy with me."

"Lucy?" Boggs asked in shock, looking over to where Roberta was helping Lucy off the uni. "You… how did you get her back?"

Tor shrugged. "Roberta and I found the pack. But that is a story for later. How are you doing these days?"

"Ahh, same old thing, Tor. I suggest you get on over to your folks house. Things haven't been the same around here since the… incident."

Tor nodded in understanding. "Well, I'll be back around tomorrow and for the next few days if you need any help."

Boggs grinned toothily. "That's good to hear. I could use an extra hand around here."

Tor said goodbye to the farmer and rejoined Roberta and Lucy. They sent the unis back to Meridell and continued on foot, greeted all of those they came across, who were all excited to see that Lucy was safe. Tor promised all of them that he would be back the next day, but right then they had to get back to his parents' house. And as they continued walking along the road, Tor saw a familiar blue techno and he grinned widely. "Turk!"

The techno looked up and seeing Tor, dropped his pitchfork to the ground and ran over. "Tor! It's been too long, friend!"

Tor clapped Turk on the shoulder. It had been far too long. The last few times Tor had visited, Turk hadn't been around, doing lots of traveling as he had always dreamed of doing. Turk, though he was now a farmer, had been off at sea at the time of the Darkest Faerie and Tor hadn't seen him since leaving his farm after saving Lucy from Shadowglen. "It has. Turk, this is Roberta. Roberta, this is my old friend Turk."

"Pleased to meet you, Roberta," Turk said bowing slightly.

"And you. Tor's told me about you. I'm happy that we could finally meet."

Turk nodded in agreement and looked down at Lucy. "Nice to see that you're alright, kiddo! Your parents will be happy to see you."

Lucy smiled brightly at him and Tor chuckled. "Why don't you walk with us a bit, Turk?"

"Sure!"

The group of four began to walk again. It was mostly in silence though Tor knew that Turk had to say something, but he couldn't with Lucy around. Apparently Roberta noticed too and said, "Hey Lucy, I'll race you to that boulder up there!"

"Alright!"

Roberta started the countdown and then the two took off running. Immediately after Turk said, "What happened Tor? With Lucy."

Tor gave his friend a curious look. "The pack took her. I got her back."

Turk scoffed. "I've heard stories, possibly just rumors, of your story against the Dark One. A lot has happened since I last met you, and I'm not quite sure that I should believe that you went against the entire werelupe pack, which is larger than the population of Brightvale and Meridell together, and get out alive."

"I wasn't alone. I had Roberta with me." Tor said stubbornly. He didn't want to talk about this here.

"Ah yes. The sorceress. Even so Tor, it's two neopets against the_ pack_. What is going on Tor? Out here it's mostly the worst of the rumors, but they say war is coming."

"It's true," Tor said, shaking his head. They were nearing the rock that marked the finish line of the race. Lucy was sitting, slightly winded, and Roberta was leaning against the rock, watching them. "I'll tell you more about it tomorrow. Take a break from work and come to my house." He looked at Roberta and then to Lucy, stifling laughter. "Who won the race?"

"I did!" Lucy exclaimed, suddenly full of energy. "Roberta's so slow!"

Roberta scowling and Tor and Tor tried to hold back their laughter. Tor picked up Lucy and placed her on his shoulders. "I know, Lucy. I spend half the time telling her to pick up the pace. If I had been by myself, getting to you would have taken half the time that it did."

"Yeah right, Tor! You're too dumb to do that by yourself."

This time Turk just roared with laughter. He could no longer to contain it and Roberta didn't try to hide her own laughter. "Lucy, this is why I like you better than Tor! You're a riot!"

Lucy just smiled, having no idea what they were finding so funny.

They continued walking in silence, other than the occasional chuckle. The then Tor noticed a little path through the trees and Tor could see the bottom of a house through the braches. That would be Aryanna's farm. He hadn't seen her in as long since it had been that he'd seen Turk. She had gone off to study in Market Town and he'd just missed her during his time of fighting away the dark clouds among the Kingdom Tor wondered if she was back from Market Town yet.

"So, is Aryanna back from Market Town yet?" he asked Turk, the little path now far behind them.

"Yes, she just returned a few days ago. She'll be shocked to hear that you're back."

"And Monty?" Monty was Aryanna's father, who had been very sick the last time Tor had checked up him during his last visit.

"He died about two weeks ago. Aryanna is handling it well. Everyone knew that it wasn't going to be much longer." Tor nodded slowly as the gate to his farm began to show itself. Turk stopped in his tracks and Tor and Roberta turned to look at him. "This is as far as I go, Tor. This isn't my place. I'll come by tomorrow with Aryanna."

"Right. I'll see you then."

Four went to three as they parted ways. Everything looked more or less the same, though the grass would need to be cut soon. The whinnies were still in their pen which seemed to have a new lock on it. Tor opened the door to the house, but it seemed that nobody was home. Tor frowned and looked at Roberta, who shrugged. Tor went stepped lightly on the stairs and went to his parents' room. Empty. Tor's frown deepened slightly. Then there was a small sound, like metal on metal. He should have known that his father would be in the barn, tinkering with unfinished inventions.

"He's outside in the barn," Tor said. He bounded back down the stairs and out the back door. He could see his mother watering the juppies.

"Mom!" Lucy shouted, running toward Patricia. Their mother looked up, confused as though she thought she was hearing things. And then she saw her.

"Lucy!" she cried wrapping her arms around her daughter. "Hubert! Hubert, Lucy is home! She's back!"

Tor looked over at the barn just as his father's head appeared around the edge of the door. He only stared for several seconds, and then he started running, dropping over the side of the stone wall. "Lucy!"

"Dad!"

Tor felt Roberta nudge him in the side of the ribs and he looked down at her. She was smiling happily, her eyes sparkling. "Go over there, Tor!" She pushed him lightly and Tor made his feet move. His parents looked at him proudly before pulling him into the family hug.

…..

"She was turned?" Patricia gasped in horror, her paws covering her mouth. Tor and Roberta were sharing their story at the small table in the kitchen. A single candle burned in the center of the table. It was late and Lucy was sleeping soundly in her bed. Tor nodded at his mother, confirming what Roberta had told her.

"She was," He said sadly, remembering the cold look in his sister's eye when she had attacked him. "But my friend Angus, he's a Potion Master and he spent the last fifteen years working on a potion that will cure the werelupe bite, and turn one back to normal. I used the potion on Lucy and it worked."

It took a few moments for his parents to take in that information. And then Hubert asked, "What happened then?"

"Roberta and I got out of there. But just when we were almost out, we ran into a patrol and they alerted the rest of the pack."

"We were chased out of there by the rest of the pack. My leg was bitten, but it wasn't fatal. I still couldn't walk though."

Tor looked at his father. "Your gloves and your rope gun really came in handy here. I sent Roberta and Lucy to the top of the cliff so that I would be able to hold the pack off with Alcasar who had come to see if we were alright. We managed to keep fighting until there was a signal for the pack to return to the caves. Alcasar and I climbed up the cliff."

"And you got out unhurt?" Patricia asked worriedly, searching her son for any signs of pain.

"Not quite. There was lots of bruising and someone cut straight through my armor. It was a lot better than one could expect when facing more than half of the pack. Roberta fixed m armor though, and the wound is nearly healed."

"How has Lucy seemed?" his mother asked.

Tor thought back to Alcasar's cave and then to seeing Lucy in Meridell. "She seems the same. She still gets along well with all of the other kids she's met. She was a little freaked out when she met Alcasar, but that didn't last long and she even had fun with his two daughters. It's like nothing ever happened. She hasn't spoken about it to me. What about you Roberta?"

"She hasn't said anything to me either. I don't know if it's good or bad though. I don't think she means to, but she's forcing those memories back and squashing them, pretending it never happened. That can hurt her in the long run. It will be better for her to get it out now. I don't want anything else to happen to her, and I'm sure that none of you do either. Patricia, I think you should be the one to talk to her about it. But not until you feel that you're both ready."

Patricia nodded, gripping her husband's hand tightly. "Thank you Roberta, for all that you have done for this family."

Roberta looked surprised, as though that thought had never occurred to her once. She glanced around at them all and Tor smiled at her. "You don't have to thank me, Patricia. You're all important to me and I don't want to see anyone hurt."

"Even so," Hubert murmured quietly. He pushed back his chair and stood up. "I believe it's time I hit the hay. Patricia?"

"Yes, me too. Tor, Roberta, I will leave sleeping arrangements to you. Good night."

"Night," The two young neopets said simultaneously. Tor heard his parents' feet going up the stairs and disappear into their bedroom. "Are you tired?" he asked Roberta.

She shrugged. "A little." She paused for a few seconds. "How was it seeing Turk? I know it's been a long time."

Tor frowned thoughtfully. "Strange. It's been so long, since before I even became a squire. We've both changed since then, taking on our own responsibilities. I guess we'll see tomorrow."

Roberta nodded through a loud yawn. "I guess I'm more tired than I thought. No point in staying awake longer than I should."

Tor agreed and they went up to his room that he had always shared with Lucy. His sister was fast asleep, curled up into a tight ball with her pillow discarded onto the ground. Tor quickly made himself a bed on the floor and before Roberta could protest, laid down and drew the covers up to his chin.

"Tor, get off the floor and get into your own bed," Roberta said. She nudged him in the ribs with her foot, her arms crossed over her chest as she glared down at him.

"Sorry, no can do. I am not a guest and you are, therefore you get the more comfortable place," he whispered back, mindful of his sister a few feet away. "Besides, I'm already in bed. You can't just make me move now."

Roberta sighed and shook her head. "You're not even wearing your sleepwear, Tor." She had changed into her sleepwear while he was making the bed.

"I find this much more comfortable."

The sorceress made a small noise of exasperation and walked over to Tor's bed, blowing out the candle on her way. "Good night, idiotic lupe."

"Good night, slightly violent acara."

….

"Tor, it's so good to see you again," the red acara greeted him warmly, hugging him tightly. She had practically attacked him upon entering the barn with Turk who was now smiling along with Roberta.

"You too, Aryanna. I'm sorry to hear about your father."

A sad look appeared in her eyes as she shrugged. "It was going to happen sooner or later. I was prepared." She stepped back and perched herself on a barrel next to Turk's while Tor shared a crate with Roberta. They all sat in a silence, one that was slightly awkward for Roberta who didn't know his two oldest friends. "So you're Roberta?" Aryanna asked, breaking the silence. Roberta smiled at her and nodded. "I've only heard about you through stories, I'm sorry to say."

"I'm sure most were probably rumors."

"True. But that's why we're here, isn't it? To get the story separated from rumors."

"And here I thought this was about old friends catching up," Tor said sighing dramatically and they all chuckled.

"That too," Turk said. "But you're staying for a little while, right?"

"Two more days," Tor nodded. "I would like to stay longer, but…"

"I understand," the techno nodded, though it seemed that Aryanna did not. She stayed quiet, though there was a small confused frown on her face. "So for now, I would like to hear what you two have to say about how you both became known as 'Saviors of Neopia'."

Tor looked at Roberta. "I'll start?"

She nodded. "It begins with you, Tor."

Tor cleared his throat and a distant look appeared in his eyes. This would be the first time he had ever told anybody the whole story. His parents didn't know about it. But Tor remembered every small detail of it. "It all started when my father sent me to Meridell with a package. I was on my way there when I came across an old beggar being threatened by a group of thieves. All I had for fighting was an old wooden sword that my father had given me. I fought of the thieves and the beggar thanked me and gave me this," Tor held up his amulet, pulling it out from under his shirt. He never took it off. "He only told me that it would help me when the time came.

"When I came to Meridell the package was stolen by a thief named Heermedjet. An old knight got it back to me and when I finally managed to deliver it, I was offered to become a squire. I got my sponsorship papers signed and went home to get permission from my parents. Then I discovered that Lucy had gone missing and I found her in Shadowglen Woods, being held prisoner by a weird sort of Juppie Monster. I know, it seems pretty out there, but it happened. A lot of what we'll tell you will be the same way. I got permission from my parents and became a squire.

"For months I trained under Master Torak, our Man at Arms. There was only one other squire, Grayson, originally from Market Town. His father is Lord Ulaf."

"I know of him. Nice guy. Always spoke very proudly of Grayson." Aryanna said and Tor nodded.

"I thought you might know him," he said. "One day there was a raid on Cogham by the Ixi tribe. I was ordered to go with a knight, Sir Harlag." Tor shook his head. "A bitter man. He didn't spare a glance at me the entire time I was a squire, and was offended that he'd been ordered to help Cogham with me, a squire. He told me that Cogham could wait until he had finished eating. I was angry, but I didn't see what I could do. And then I met the same old knight who had helped me get my package back. I didn't normally see him around the castle, which I found strange. But he told me something that has stuck with me to this day."

"What did he say?" Turk asked impatiently as Tor paused for a few moments, lost in memories.

"Do what you think is right, what your heart tells you is right. So I went to Cogham by myself. I had to walk by myself through Drackonack Ridge to get there, being unable to take one of the unis. I didn't want to be caught going against orders. I fought of the Ixies with some of the villagers who were all rightly pissed that Meridell sent only a measly squire. So I went off to find the Ixi Chief. It was partly to prove myself and partly to ensure that the Ixies wouldn't be back for a while. It was rough going and an even rougher battle, but I killed the chief."

Tor could help but grin at the shocked faces of his two friends. He was much different from the farm boy they once knew. "Upon returning to Meridell I was made into a knight of third class, meaning a single step above a squire. Still, it was a pretty big thing for me. Of course Grayson was a little put out since he had become a squire before I did. But I was still treated more or less like a squire, though without clog duty and such."

"Ew. I don't even like the sound of that," Aryanna muttered and Turk nodded in agreement.

"Trust me, it's worse than the name implies," Tor said, only joking slightly. E put on a serious face again. "That night something strange happened. I didn't know what it was until later, but there was a difference in the air. Nobody else seemed bothered, but I could feel something strange, dark. Later there was a messenger from Illusen's Glade saying that the werelupe King had attacked and that there was dark magic involved, that purple clouds were hovering over the village. King Skarl sent all of the other knights out but me.

"A few days passed but they never returned. Everyone tried to hide it, but they were all growing worried. And then, while I was wandering the castle I met the old knight once again. He told me that evil was coming and that I had to go and save the other knights at once. So I went." He looked around at them to make sure they were still paying attention. They were, three pairs of eyes fixed on his face even though Roberta already knew the story. "The Glade was crawling with werelupes and the other knights had been trapped in cages, their weapons taken. I freed them and they didn't have much choice but to return to Meridell. Without weapons they wouldn't be any help."

"They left you alone?" Turk asked incredulously.

Tor nodded. "Master Torak's orders. He sent me to see if Illusen was alright so I went up into the treetop village. The Werelupe King had Illusen and when he saw me he ordered his pet Gnarfas to kill me." Tor shook his head as he thought of the large werelupe with the bright red fur, and the four arms, each equipped with swinging chains. "It was tough, and I nearly lost before the old knight appeared and managed to knock that monster away. He told me to get away from there, but then the Werelupe King killed him, or so I thought. I killed Gnarfas, but before I could get to the king he took Illusen's charm and got away.

"Illusen went unconscious. I tried to revive her, but when I did her eyes had turned purple, her mind taken over. The sky went dark, the glade consumed by the purple clouds. She pushed me over the edge and I fell to the ground, out cold for a little while. When I came too everything was dark, as though light had never touched the glade. There were these monsters, magical beasts, minions they were called, flying around and attacking me. I got back to Meridell and the clouds had even stretched there. Nobody was in the streets and nobody guarded the castle. I went inside to search for the king, or anybody. Dark Knights, beings that had been resurrected from the dead were in the castle. They are hard to get rid of, but I managed and found King Skarl in a trance, kneeling next to the Dark One who sat on his throne. There were three other dark faeries there, her sisters, Vanity, Malice, and Spite."

"Creepy," Turk muttered.

Tor smirked and nodded in agreement. Yes, they had been creepy to say the least. "They were planning to destroy the Kingdom. I was spying from behind a pillar, but the Darkest Faerie saw me. The other three went after me and I tried to escape. They created fire barriers, blocking my way, but I finally got away from them, just for about a minute, getting into the storage room. Faun, a servant in the castle was there and she helped me get out, moving aside a grate in the floor that led to the moat. I jumped down while Faun hid and I floated out to sea."

The knight looked around to make sure that his friends had taken everything in. They seemed to be processing it all well. Tor looked to Roberta who sighed, leaning back against the barn wall. "This is where my story begins. I am he niece of both King Hagan and King Skarl, though I have lived in Brightvale my entire life. I learned magic in secret from my mentor Seradar, the Royal Sorcerer of the Kingdom. We were on our way to Faerieland to visit Queen Fyora and warn her of the dark clouds that had been spreading over the lands. I was annoyed at having been sent out to do it by my uncle. I never wanted to be a diplomat, but my uncle always said it was my duty.

"I met an old woman there, before we had the meeting with Queen Fyora, who had her pet harris stuck in a tree. I got it back to her and she rewarded me with this amulet," Roberta held up her amulet matching Tor's. Here Aryanna and Turk looked between the two, realizing that there was a connection between the amulets, even if they didn't know what it was. "Seradar and I went to see Fyora soon after. She said that she had sent word to Illusen, but hadn't received an answer and that she would look into it when she got the chance. It wasn't much, but what else could we do?"

"I awoke the next morning to purple clouds and the minions. Seradar was already being controlled by the dark magic, just as Illusen and King Skarl were. I tried to get out of there but I heard a woman screaming for help. I went to check it out, looking through a grate from one of the storage rooms. The woman who had given me the amulet was chained to the wall and the Darkest Faerie was there. She was wondering why the woman wasn't controlled by her magic. She spoke of a lupe who she was also unable to control."

Tor grinned. "That would be me."

Aryanna rolled her eyes. "We were aware. Let Roberta go on with her story!"

Roberta grinned and pushed Tor with her foot. "Yeah, shut up Tor. Anyway, I distracted the darkest Faerie, making the bell tower go off. I went to the aisha's prison and freed her. I tried to get her to go with me, but she wouldn't. She said that I had to leave and find my amulet's twin and that he could help me. I didn't have much choice, and a part of me knew that she would be fine. I escaped down the endless staircase and found my uni, Solarin. The Darkest Faerie spotted me though and I was thrown off Solarin and I fell down to the land again."

"You fell from Faerieland?" Aryanna asked in shock. "And you lived?!"

"It's pretty hard to believe," Turk added skeptically. Tor gave his friend a hard look.

"I told you in the beginning that a lot of it would be. She did fall from Faerieland, just as I floated to the beach."

Roberta nodded. "And that's where my amulet found its twin."


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Tor and Roberta's story is continued for part of this chapter. Some of it is different from the game, just little details.

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie

Chapter 16

Tor took over the story for Roberta. She had told her part well and seemed to need a break. He was well aware that she had never told anyone the story, just as he hadn't, yet here she was, telling her secret to two neopets that she had never even met before. He hadn't asked her to, but she was doing it for him anyway. "Just after we met the dark clouds spread across the skies over our heads and the minions appeared. We didn't even know each other's names yet and we fought them off. You don't really kill a minion. I don't think they are really alive to begin with, just like the dark knights. They're just creatures of darkness."

"I must say I was impressed with Tor's fighting," Roberta cut in with a small smile. "We were about fifteen at the time, but he fought better than most I had had seen while growing up in the castle."

"And I had never seen magic at work in the way she was putting it to use." Tor shook his head to put himself back into the tale. "We introduced ourselves and then Roberta noticed that I had the other amulet."

"And Tor didn't have a single clue as to what I was talking about."

Tor shrugged. "Nobody ever told me that there was another and that I was to find its twin! I was only told never to take it off."

"You two done bickering like an old couple yet?" Aryanna cut in impatiently. Tor glared at her and coughed into his hand.

"Right. Well we went to Brightvale which hadn't been taken by the Darkest Faerie and told the King about everything that had happened. He predicted that within three weeks the clouds would spread over Brightvale. Two of those weeks Roberta and I did research. We were young and in way over our heads, but we were the owners of the amulets which gave us protection from the clouds. We needed as much information that we could get."

"I did most of the research," Roberta said, grinning at Tor. "He mostly got supplies and did nothing."

"Not true," Tor muttered. "I also got the highest score on the obstacle course."

Roberta rolled her eyes. "We found out that the Darkest Faerie was one of the founders of Altador, though she later destroyed it. It took the immense power from Fyora's wand to stop her. The wand was said to be in the treasure vault under the castle, and we figured that we needed to get there."

"There were several problems however," Tor said. "One, just after we left Brightvale we had our first encounter with the Assassin who had been sent by the darkest faerie to kill us. I had never faced an opponent like him and none of Roberta's spells could even hit him. But he left when some Brightvale guards came to help. Problem number two: the bridge to Meridell was out. Brendel, the man who works on the bridges, lived in Bogshot which had been consumed by the purple clouds, and also a plague. We offered to get the ingredients for the apothecary, Fautt."

"And what do you know; the assassin shows up and has the sludgies attack us. But that wasn't even the worst part. See, it turned out that the dark purple clouds were tied to various monsters that had been, more or less, resurrected. In Bogshot there was a swamp monster, a giant serpent that had terrorized the villagers years and years ago before it was defeated. We got rid of it and the clouds went away and gave the ingredients to Fautt. It took about a week, in which we returned to Brightvale and managed to stop a revolt against King Hagan by my father and a bunch of thieves."

"Soon after that the clouds went over Brightvale," Tor said sadly. "We couldn't return there with the Dark Faeries all looking for the two of us as there had been word that Spite and Malice were controlling King Hagan, so we went to Market Town, also taken by the clouds. We infiltrated he dark fortress and got rid of the Black Knight, freeing Market Town."

"That was right before I got there," Aryanna said. "I started traveling right before the clouds reached the farm. But I don't remember anything after seeing the clouds until I reached Market Town. I heard that you had been there though, and I heard stories about what happened, but I couldn't bring myself to believe most of them. Now I know better."

Tor grinned at his friend and nodded to Roberta to continue. "After Market Town we went to Werelupe Woods and broke into their lair. We split up so that we could find Illusen's charm and free her from the trance. I found the charm, but made a stupid mistake and got trapped. I was there for a while before the trap was lowered into a room, filled with werelupes and their King. And Tor was facing off against him. I couldn't do anything but watch. Completely helpless. But Tor beat him and the werelupes scattered, lost without their king."

"Afterwards we went to Illusen's glade, but there was no way to get up to the treetops, so we had no choice but to turn back. Instead we went to Cogham and found that the entire village had been captured by the Ixies and taken down into the old mines. We freed each of them one by one and found that the Ixi chief had been resurrected by the dark magic and was stronger than before. It took the both of us to beat him and when we returned to the village, the mayor gave us two cloaks called the Cloaks of Heroes. While wearing them we were able to walk unnoticed by minions and other dark creatures like the dark knights."

"Since we still didn't know of a way to get to Illusen, we came here. Everybody around had gone missing except Tor's family, who were all insane, being controlled be the darkness. They said that creatures from Shadowglen had taken everyone and dragged them off to the woods. So that's where we went. Everybody had been captured by the same Juppie Monster that Tor spoke about. After defeating it and freeing everyone, we came back here and stayed a few days. Then Hubert gave us what he named a rope gun. It has a grappling hook on the end which was our ticket to the treetops in the glade."

"The assassin was already there. Illusen was out cold and the Assassin had been waiting for us. I fought him, and I nearly beat him before he teleported away. Having her charm back, Illusen was freed from the dark magic and she gave us an orb that would penetrate the walls surrounding Meridell. We used our cloaks to get into the city, but there was no way into the castle. We couldn't stay out in the open for long or it would grow suspicious so we went into an alley where we met up with a thief I knew. I tended to buy maps from him when I lived in the castle as a squire. I did a lot of work for the shopkeepers to earn some neopoints and every time I left I would pick up a treasure map from him as an extra bit of income."

"You associate with thieves?!" Turk asked in shock.

Tor smirked at his friend. "Listen a bit and you might understand why. Roberta, you tell this part."

The sorceress nodded. "Rory took us into the basement where there were other thieves huddled around. They claimed that they could get us into the castle if we got them Market Town's treasure. Luckily, we already had it, the treasure being a gift to us for freeing them from the black knight. The thieves showed us a way into the sewers that would lead us straight to the treasure vault. I was hesitant to believe them, but they had no reason to lie, other than being a couple of spiteful thieves, so Tor and I went down the chute."

"The sewers did lead to the treasure vault eventually, but there was something waiting for us. An undead draik skeleton. And I don't mean a regular draik, I mean a draik the size of this barn who had magical properties. We found that if you hit its magical center, it would be continuously weakened each time it was hit, much like with dark knights and the Black Knight. Once we had destroyed it, Roberta took Fyora's wand and we got out of there, finding our way into the castle. Spite, Malice and Vanity were all there, and King Skarl was serving them. I was pretty much useless here, but I kept them distracted so that Roberta could beat them one by one. Once that was over King Skarl snapped out of it, took the wand and drove the clouds away."

"I called my uni Solarin and Tor and I flew to Brightvale now that the sisters were gone. The clouds were still there, but I was able to get rid of them using the wand. We went to make sure that everyone was alright, though it seemed that they barely remembered what happened. I told my uncle everything we'd been through, and he actually thought about forcing me to stay. By this time I was sixteen and told him that he couldn't force me to do anything. He gave pretty easily and Tor and I flew to Faerieland the next day."

"When we got into Fyora's palace we found 'Fyora' there, having trapped the 'Darkest Faerie'. She asked Roberta to give her the wand so that she could drive away the dark clouds, but it was a trap. Who we thought was Fyora was the Darkest Faerie and Fyora was the one who was trapped. While the Darkest Faerie was celebrating victory, Fyora got free and took her wand back. They started to fight and Fyora teleported us away, telling us to find Jerdana and that she would be able to help."

"We ended up in a place called the Hall of Heroes in what we soon found out was Altador. It was here that we discovered many things that had until then, been a puzzlement. King Altador himself came to us, revealing that he was really the old knight that had helped Tor find out who he was. He told us that we had to awaken the other founders in order to find Jerdana and stop the darkest faerie, who had destroyed the city a millennium ago. The other founders hadn't been able to stop her in time."

Tor hopped of the crate and crouched down next to it as he grabbed a stick. "Altador is set up into four districts, the Hall of Heroes in the very center of it all," he explained, drawing a sketch of Altador in the dirt. "The four districts are known as the Park District, the Bazaar District, the Arena District, and the Money district. In each of these places one of the founders had been trapped into stone, Kelland the Quick, or Kell, the beggar who gave me the amulet, Torakor, or Master Torak the Man at Arms, Fauna, or Faun the servant who help me escape the castle, and Gordos, Gord a merchant who we had met on our travels several times. There were others, such as Florin, a negg seller known as Florindil in our world. We freed all of the founders and met back in the Hall of Heroes where they used their powers to teleport Roberta and I away to free Jerdana. Are you two getting all of this?"

The acara and techno nodded slowly and Turk said, "Yeah. It's a lot to take in though."

Tor nodded. "I know. And we're toning it down a little too. So much happened and it would take days to tell it all." He jumped back onto the crate and looked at Roberta. She understood and continued their story.

"To free Jerdana we had to go through many different tasks, all of which took the both of us to complete. We finally managed to get to where she was, trapped in stone and freed her. She was the one who had given me my amulet, the old woman I saved in Faerieland. Jerdana was one of the most powerful off all the twelve heroes, alongside King Altador and the Darkest Faerie herself. We went back to the Hall of Heroes where Jerdana finally was able to free everyone from the dark clouds. We spent about a week in Altador. It is trapped forever in a slow time bubble that even Jerdana is unable to break. There heroes told us that we could stay for as long as we wanted and they could send us back to the exact time in which we left."

Roberta turned to Tor who was staring up at the ceiling, a smile on his face. "Altador is beyond anything that you can imagine. Even though it is trapped in times from long ago, it's very advanced, and everything there is top notch. It's where my Armor came from and many have said that my armor is like none they have ever seen. Where a normal knight's armor can be easily pierced with an arrow mine cannot. It does not dent. Though, over time it does grow weaker unless it is reinforced again. And the city in whole is four times the size of Meridell."

The sorceress shook her head, seeing that Tor had gone off track from the story. She kicked him in the side and he looked over at her questioningly. "Tor, you're getting off track."

Tor rubbed the back of his head and cleared his throat. "Right. So after a week we decided that it was time to return and defeat the darkest faerie. King Altador gave me his sword for luck, hoping that it would help me when the time came."

"Wait!" Turk shouted, throwing his hands into the air. "You have King Altador's sword?"

"Yeah, it's inside. Now, can I go one? Good. Well before we left Jerdana gave us an amulet that would trap the Darkest Faerie in stone once again. When Roberta and I returned to Faerieland we found that the Darkest Faerie had overpowered Fyora and had trapped her. The Darkest Faerie was planning to destroy Meridell and Faerieland completely by crashing Faerieland into Meridell, cutting off the magic supply that keeps the city floating like it does. While Faerieland was crashing to the ground Roberta and I fought the Darkest Faerie."

"I knew it was a longshot, but I had to do something fast. So the second her guard was down I threw the amulet. It landed right around her neck and she was turned to stone, cursing us the entire time. Fyora was able to free herself from the Darkest Faerie's binds. She stopped the city from crashing just in time two more seconds and everything would have been over."

"And that's our story," Tor finished, glancing at Roberta in a silent agreement that they would keep their last meeting with the founders on the edge of Fyora's gardens to themselves. He looked back to his friends and gave them a curious look at their shocked expressions. "Well?"

"That's all so… unbelievable!" Aryanna breathed. "I mean, I've known you my entire life, Tor, and I remember when we were younger and you used to claim that one day you would be a hero. And now you are one of the most well-known neopets in all of Neopia. I just never imagined that Tormund Ellis was capable of that."

"Thanks," Tor said sarcastically. "Well, now you know my story. Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you what happened with Lucy."

"Why not now?" Aryanna asked disappointedly.

"I told Old Man Boggs that I would come by and help him out today and I have to get over there soon. Actually, I should be leaving now." He slid down to the ground and they all followed him out of the barn. "Roberta are you coming or are you staying here?"

"I think I'll just stay here."

"Why don't you come over to my farm?" Aryanna suggested suddenly as they approached the farm gates. "It'll be a lot more fun there than here and I personally would like to get to know you more."

Roberta grinned. "Sure."

The group of four walked together down the farm road. There were occasional questions thrown at the two heroes and they answered them truthfully. Yes, they had been scared. Yes, they felt incredibly lucky to have survived. No, they hadn't kept in touch since the defeat of the Darkest Faerie until the attack at the one year celebration. Yes, they had come close to death more than once.

When they reached Aryanna's farm the red acara promised that she would see him the next day at the same place. Tor and Turk carried on without the acaras, not speaking until they were out of earshot.

"So… you and Roberta… are you together."

Tor's mouth dropped open at the question. "No! Just friends, Turk. Where did that come from?"

The techno shrugged. "I don't know. You two spend months together traveling all over the place with only each other as company. So you mean to tell me that not a single thing happened that entire time you were trying to stop the Darkest Faerie?"

"Nothing."

"Hm." Turk grunted. "She's very pretty."

"I am aware." He had spent months with Roberta in a tent. Yes the thought that she was pretty had come into his mind more than once. He wasn't oblivious. "She's incredibly powerful too, more so now than she was when we fought the Dark One. I feel sorry for whoever gets on her bad side."

"I'll keep that in mind."

They continued walking for a while and Tor asked, "So, how was your trip?"

Turk grinned, a faraway look in his eyes. "Amazing. I visited places I never even knew existed! There's so much out there, Tor. So many different places with different neopets. One day I'll tell you all about it."

"I can't wait to hear it. I wish I could have gone with you, but I became a squire."

"Well, it was always your dream to become a knight. It looks like we've both fulfilled our dreams. It's just too bad it all happened so soon. We're only seventeen."

Tor smiled wistfully. "Yeah. Roberta thinks that after all we've been through, there can't be much more to see. I told her she's a pessimist and that one day I would prove her wrong."

They had reached Turk's farm. His parents Bruce and Sandy were sitting out on the porch, relaxing and enjoying the fact that they no longer worked on the farm, having left it up to Turk and his younger brother Arnie who was currently chopping wood. Tor waved at them and looked back at Turk. "I'll see you tomorrow and give you the details of what's going on these days."

"Alright. See you Tor."

**A/N: If you didn't notice the changes, here they are. King Hagan originally said that the dark clouds would spread to Brightvale in three days, not weeks. Since in this story Roberta and Tor had stayed in Brightvale for two weeks, they would have been there for the arrival of the clouds had it only been three days. Also, in the game Brightvale was not taken by the darkest faerie, but as in this story, Tor and Roberta had been traveling for several months, I made it so that Brightvale had been taken. So after freeing Meridell, they would have had to return to Brightvale and free the Kingdom from the clouds as well. Any changes made were necessary to fit the story. **


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: I found my original cover for this story. I drew it before i ever even started writing this story, so that was a while ago and i've gotten much better at drawing since then. Also, my cover is up rather late seeing as there won't be too many more chapters. Also, parts got cut off on the upload, but Roberta was holding the wand that you buy in Altador.

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie.

Chapter 17

"Yesterday I would have said you were lying had you told me that story," Turk said as Tor and Roberta finished telling their latest adventure. Today they were sitting on top of the barn roof where their words would not be overheard. "But now I know better than to doubt you."

"So who exactly is this assassin?" Aryanna asked. "I've never even heard of him."

"Well isn't that the way an assassin would prefer it?" Roberta said. "But I have heard about him in books, remember Tor? They say that after his lover died he went insane and went into dark magic to try and bring her back to life. When he couldn't, he was driven further into insanity due to the dark magic taking over his mind. And that's how he became what he is today. He's incredibly powerful, having lived for around a hundred years to perfect his skills. The only reason that we were nearly able to beat him was because he underestimated us."

"So what happens next?" Turk asked. "This guy wants control over Neopia!"

Tor shook his head. "We can't keep fighting them off forever. In every battle there are deaths and injuries. We don't have many soldiers to spare at this point, but the pack is larger than all the neopets from here to Brightvale combined. Eventually we won't have anybody left to defend."

"King Skarl and King Hagan will have to make a decision soon," Roberta said. "But war is inescapable. And soon the storm will hit."

Aryanna looked between the two. "And where does that leave you both?"

"On the frontlines most likely," Tor answered. "Roberta and I know more about fighting the werelupes than anybody. And everybody knows that, just as everybody knows that the Assassin has a grudge against us. Roberta is right. A decision has to be made soon rather than just prolonging the attacks. We can't keep it up for long."

Aryanna took a deep breath as she shuddered at the thought of Tor, one of her oldest friends, leading a battle against the werelupes. "Are you scared?"

Tor nodded slowly. "I am. Of many things." He lay back against the roof, crossing his arms behind his head. It was a sunny day and the heat beat down on his face as he stared at the clouds. "I fear death. I fear the death of others. I fear the death of friends and family. I'm afraid that we will lose and the assassin will achieve his goal."

"Well that's not going to happen," Roberta said forcefully with a glare. "You were always the one who said that we were an unbeatable team. So what's changed since those days? We've only gotten stronger since then. We can't lose."

"I want to fight."

The words were sudden and caused Tor to sit straight up. He tore his eyes from Roberta's to look at Turk whose face was set in determination. Aryanna looked as shocked as Tor felt. Tor shook his head. "I can't let you fight. You've had no experience?"

"So? Is there really any choice, Tor? I want to fight!"

Tor just stared at his friend, trying to find some way to convince him that he didn't need to fight. He couldn't come up with anything. If things kept going the way they were then they would have to start recruiting others to fight. After thinking for several silent minutes, Tor stood up. "Follow me," he muttered, climbing down the ladder. The others looked at one another before following Tor down the ladder. He led them to the North Field where they stopped in front of an old storage shack. Tor pulled back a piece of wood and grabbed a key that unlocked the door. "If you want to fight, there's no way that I can stop you. But I will help you."

He lit a candle that illuminated the small room. Turk gasped at the sight of Tor's past swords and armor. After the defeat of the Darkest Faerie Tor had come back to the farm for a few days and had redone the shed as a place for his armor. He stepped farther inside to allow everyone else in. "All of these were mine during the journey." He lifted one of the swords off the shelf and took it from its sheath. The sword was finely made, the best in the shop in Market Town. The blade was made of gold, the hilt of silver with jewels embedded in it. "I bought this in Market Town. I want you to take it, along with the armor I bought there," Tor gestured to his Market Town armor. "It's made to adjust to whoever wears it, no matter the type of neopet."

"I remember this!" Roberta said. She was standing in front of his gilded armor. "We got this from the treasure vault!"

"I remember that too," Tor said with a grin. "And I remember as a squire talking to Inga and she told me of a rumor that there was gilded armor in the treasure vault. If she knew I had it she might have a heart attack. She always wanted to get her hands on it." He looked at Turk. "I want to teach you a little about fighting," he said and grabbed the sword he had gotten while on his way to the treasure vault after he had been off some spirits that had attacked. It felt strange in his hand after using King Altador's sword for so long, a little heavier than he was used too, with less balance. It would work though.

They went out into the cornfield. "One of the first things I learned was to time my attacks. Start counting when you swing your sword. Once you hit two, swing again. Watch me." Tor swung his sword, slicing through empty air as he counted out loud. He would have liked to have a training dummy, but it wasn't necessary. He did it twice and watched Turk mimic his moves. He wasn't terrible, always having been able to pick things up easily, a skill that many had commented Tor had. His stance was correct, maybe slightly off.

The two went on for over an hour in the hot sun. Tor taught his friend some moves that he had come up with during his fighting that had been very useful. It was good for the both of them. It eased Tor's mind to know that his friend wouldn't be sent out with no experience. By the time they decided to stop Aryanna and Roberta had left them. They stopped at the pump to get a drink and cool themselves down and then walked into the house. Aryanna and Roberta were sitting at the table laughing.

"What's so funny?" Turk asked curiously as Tor got out four glasses and filled them with some of his mother's lemonade.

"Oh nothing," Roberta said airily, suppressing another chuckle. Tor found her tone somewhat menacing in a strange way. And as he expected, when the lupe turned around to set the glasses on the table there was a wicked glimmer in her eye. He looked accusingly at Aryanna. "What did you teller her?"

Aryanna raised her hands. "I didn't tell her anything!"

Tor looked helplessly at Turk and Roberta burst out laughing again. "What is so funny!?" he asked loudly, feeling a little agitated and nervous. "Tell me!"

It took several minutes of coaxing before Aryanna finally raised her hand in surrender and managed to gasp out between laughs, "Alright! Alright! I told her about the time you asked my older sister to marry you."

Roberta couldn't hold back her laughter as Tor's jaw dropped open in horror. Now even Turk was laughing. "I was three!" Tor shouted. "And we agreed never to speak of that again!"

"Tor I had no idea that you like older women!" Roberta said.

"Shut up!"

….

Tor walked into the barn where his father was currently working, the sound of metal hitting metal pounding in his ears. But when his father saw him in the doorway he put down his tools. "Tor, what brings you to me now? I thought you were going down to Tessa's to help out."

Tor walked farther into the barn and sat on a crate. "That was this morning. I've finished there." Tor frowned. His father had been acting strange these past few days. He wasn't forgetful, Tor decided, but he seemed very distracted. "What's going on, Dad? You've been distracted since I came home."

Hubert sighed and sat down on a wooden barrel. He rubbed his face tiredly and looked at his son with a serious expression. "I've been thinking, son."

"About what?" Tor prompted.

"The upcoming storm upon the Kingdoms, the Assassin, and what is to become of this family. I've come close to losing both of my children, and it is something I don't think I can take again. But you will have to fight, you are an adult now and I can't stop you from fighting. And this Assassin is after you. Your mother is in denial about it, but there is a chance of you… dying in this battle."

"Dad, I still can't lie to you, I never could, so I can't say that there isn't a chance of death in my future. But I have beaten the Assassin before. He might have caught me off guard at the party, but that won't happen again. Roberta and I, you see, are an unbeatable team as we say. Nothing bad is going to happen to me. I promised that I would bring Lucy home safely. And I kept that promise, didn't I?"

Hubert sighed, nodding his head slowly. "You did. But luck doesn't hold forever."

"Who said anything about luck?" Tor asked. "I was able to keep that promise because of past experiences. There was nothing lucky about it. Believe me, Dad. Roberta and I can get through anything."

"It certainly seems that way."

Tor left the barn a little later, feeling slightly better now that he had eased his father's mind a little. He saw Roberta sitting on the whinnies' pen reading a book. In her other hand she had her wand and was waving it idly. He walked over to her, reading the cover of the book as he went. _Magic of the Mind, Volume IV. _He hopped onto the fence next to her and asked, "What's that about?" nodding to her book.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You must be very bored."

"I am."

"So go find something to do. Work or something."

"I've been working since before sunrise!" Tor said indignantly. "You, on the other hand, have not working since we got here."

"What? I've helped your mother every day since we got here!"

"Sure you have."

"You delivered the water for the juppies to me two hours ago!"

Before the argument could go any farther a rustle in the bushes behind them interrupted. They both stared, months of paranoia and ability to sense danger coming back to them. Roberta had her hand on her wand and Tor's hand on his belt, inches from his sword. The next second figures burst from the trees. At first glance Tor knew that they were the creatures of Shadowglen. Roberta had taken two down the instant they burst forth. Tor slashed with his sword screaming, "EVERYBODY INTO THE HOUSE!" as loud as he could to ensure that no matter where on the farm they were, they would hear him.

He cut down two more plants with spindly limbs and large razor sharp teeth. He heard a sharp intake of breath from Roberta that let him know that she'd been hit with some of the burning acid that plants emitted. "I'm alright!" she called out when Tor looked over his shoulder to see if she'd been wounded badly. He nodded and sliced the large head of one of the enemies right off. It rolled a few feet before growing tiny legs and began crawling in another direction. Tor kicked it with his boot and it flew straight into the head of another, taking it off with the tremendous force behind it.

Soon the scattered plants lay in the grass, unmoving. Tor and Roberta looked around them and nodded in satisfaction, panting slightly. Tor looked at Roberta. "I don't believe this attack is a mere coincidence," He said quietly.

"I don't either. Get your armor, Tor, and we'll see what's happening in the swamp."

"Right," Tor agreed. They walked into the house where his family was huddled by the window so that they were able to watch the fight. Tor was pleased to see that they had all listened to his order. He didn't want anybody hurt.

"Are you two alright?" Patricia gasped, moving into action to check them over.

"We're fine, don't worry," Roberta said, but Tor noticed the burn on her skin. It wasn't bad, but it probably burned. He went under the cupboard and broke a piece off of some baggus fruit that was still fresh. He went back to Roberta and grabbed her arm, and broke the piece in half. He allowed the juices to flow over the burn. It glowed green briefly before the burn faded completely. "Thanks, Tor."

"No problem." He looked at his parents and said, "We're going into Shadowglen Woods. I don't think this was just a coincidence."

Hubert nodded though his wife looked ready to protest. He put a hand on Patricia's shoulder. "We understand. Do what you need to do, but be careful."

Tor went to his room to get his armor while Roberta went with him to get her battle robes. She left to go change and Tor turned to his armor. He put it on with practiced ease and went back down the stairs after grabbing his back pack. It was something he carried with him at all times, carrying many crucial items that could potentially save his life in many situations. He nodded to Roberta who had arrived just after him and they left with a short good-bye, a Meerca Speed potion in hand. They sped along the path until they began to near the farms. Tor pricked his ears forward, hearing screams. The farms were under attack. He put on a small burst of speed, Roberta doing the same.

As soon as the farms came into view they split up. Tor went to where Turk was fighting bravely with his sword beside Farmer Tessa who wielded a shovel. He jumped into battle and helped them clear the area of the plants. Both already were covered in acid burns by the end.

"Thanks for coming," Turk gasped as the three of them began running to help Old Man Boggs who was about to be overwhelmed.

"Don't worry about it," Tor answered grimly. "Roberta and I were on our way through when we heard the attack. They came to my farm too. I didn't hear anything at Aryanna's though."

"Let's hope she's alright," Turk muttered, turning into the fray. Tor did the same, tearing off a plant who had managed to grab onto Boggs' back. He tore it apart and threw it at another. Soon Roberta joined them blasting a path to Tor's side.

"I cleared them out by Addison's. He's alright now. A few burns. I told him to go and get some baggus fruit from his cellar."

"Good," Tor said through gritted teeth as he killed another enemy. "Now, let's get rid of these guys."

"Watch my back. I got it."

Tor knew what Roberta was doing. He covered her, keeping a wide circle around them free of plants. Within moments she had equipped an air mote to her wand and was charging to up. Just before she released the burst of magic Tor shouted, "EVERYONE GET DOWN!" He then dropped to the ground on his stomach and he felt the burst of energy from Roberta's wand and then the raging winds that threatened to tear him to shreds. He pressed himself firmly into the ground until he felt the winds subside. Then he stood up, not a plant in sight.

"Alright everyone, they're gone."

Slowly the others got to their feet staring at Roberta in awe. Tor was slightly shocked himself, but he kept himself calm when he turned to the acara. "That was new. You've been working on that then?"

"What do you think I was reading about before?" Roberta joked easily now that the battle was over. She was always very calm after a fight, something Tor himself felt too. "Motes work very well when you open your mind to them."

"Huh," Tor grunted thoughtfully. That might be something to teach the squires. "Well nice job with that."

"Thanks."

Addison joined them seconds later, his arms full of baggus fruit with Turk's brother Arnie and their parents, Geoffrey and Sheila. Tor and Roberta, unwounded stood to the side. "We're heading into Shadowglen woods," Tor announced. "Turk, go up to Aryanna's farm and make sure that everything is alright up there. Everyone keep watch for any more of them."

"Thanks for the help, Tor, Roberta," Boggs said gruffly as Roberta dripped some of the baggus juice onto one of his burn to show him how to do it himself.

"It was nothing," she said and walked over to stand next to Tor. "Are you ready?"

"Let's go."

She handed him another dose of the Meerca speed potion and took one for herself. They clicked the vials together and drank before going full speed for Shadowglen.

…

The woods seemed darker than ever as the two picked their way through as silently as they could, bypassing the plants that wandered around with hostile eyes. Everything seemed pretty much normal to Tor, nothing out of place. But he hadn't seen anything yet.

Tor passed through a screen of vines that hid a side tunnel. He and Roberta walked through it, pressing closely to the sides. They had to keep their weapons sheathed or the faint glimmer of air motes would give them away in a moment. Tor peeked out from behind the tunnel wall and scanned the area. There was a plant pacing back and forth to the right, taking about eight seconds between each turn. Tor looked at Roberta and flicked his head to an old log. She nodded and Tor counted down on his fingers before they ran, sliding down behind the log Tor had pointed out.

"Nothing seems different," Roberta breathed by his ear.

"I know. But there's one more place to check on the far west side of the glen."

"The place we fought the juppie monster?"

"That's the place. Come on, up that ledge right there and duck behind it."

"Right."

Tor counted down from three and in a flash they had jumped up onto the ledge and rolled across to the other side and climbed up to a second one. "Climb the vines quickly," he muttered. Roberta grabbed onto a thick vine above her head and jumped up, climbing easily. It was a task that had been performed many times by both of them. It was about a fifteen foot climb before Tor was able to haul himself up onto the ledge with Roberta who seemed completely frozen on her hands and knees.

There, standing just two feet in front of them was a tall figure in dark robes. A rapier with a golden hilt embedded with rubies hung loosely from his belt. Tor looked up in horror at the Assassin's face. He was showing his teeth in a sinister smile.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here, hm?" he said with a small chuckle. "Spies, perhaps? That just won't do!" He began pacing, tapping his chin as Tor and Roberta slowly got to their feet. "Kill you? But that won't be much fun here. No I can save that for later."

Tor snarled at the gelert and drew his sword. It only made him laugh.

"Oh no, now is not the time for that. Why ruin my fun so soon? But there are other ways of… having fun." Before Tor could even blink a sharp wave of magic hit him, throwing him straight over the edge of the small cliff with Roberta. The gelert laughed the entire time and screamed, "Dinner Time!" Then he disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

Tor grabbed Roberta's hand and pulled her to her feet. "Are you alright?"

She dusted herself off quickly and picked up her wand from the ground. "I'm fine. That's not the problem here though."

She was right. Waves of the monsters of Shadowglen were heading toward them from all sides. Tor and Roberta stood back to back. "Are you ready for this?" he asked, already charging up his mote.

"Ready."


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie.

Chapter 18

Raging winds tore through Shadowglen as Tor and Roberta released the energy stored with their air motes. Roberta had given Tor a brief overview of how to open his mind to the mote on their way to the woods. He was very impressed with the results. Every plant within a twenty foot radius of them was torn to shreds. Once the winds died down Roberta grabbed Tor's arm and said, "We have to get out of here, quickly!"

He nodded in agreement, seeing more plants coming toward them from the shadows. He started running for the exit, cutting down everything in his way. The winds he had created had drained the mote completely and his sword no longer carried the blue-green glow.

Finally the two ran out of the glen, thankful for the clear air and sunlight that they were greeted with. Tor strained to hear anything following them, but there was nothing. I seemed that now they would have to return to Meridell sooner than they had wanted. Roberta summoned Solarin to come and get them with another uni. The two drank the rest of their Meerca Speed potion and ran as fast as they could back into the farm lands. It seemed that the others had been waiting for them because all of the farmers, including his parents and Lucy were standing in two groups, adults and children, near Tessa's farm. Baggus fruit was immediately given to them to clear their burns.

"What is happening in the glen?" Hubert asked.

Tor gave his father a sad look. "I'm calling a farm meeting. Aryanna, take the kids into Tessa's home." Aryanna nodded and ushered the children away, despite their protesting. The rest of the farmers formed a line in front of Tor, making him feel slightly out of place. In the past, Farm Meeting had always been called by his father and led by his father. Now Hubert was standing among the others and Tor wondered whether any of them noticed this change. Aryanna returned, taking her place with her mother and older sister, Carla and Jamie.

"It seems as though the Assassin is controlling the creatures in the glen," he announced. "Roberta and I have to leave a little sooner than planned as now we have to return to Meridell and report this to King Skarl. The unis are on their way now."

"What if those creatures come back?" Addison asked.

"Then you have to be ready," Roberta answered, taking Tor's place. "Everybody will have to be careful and watch out for anything in case of another attack. Everybody will have to work together as a team."

"Addison, keep your bow handy at all times," Tor ordered. The scorchio was an expert with his bow, rivaling the skills of Master Torak himself. He would be a great asset in a battle. "Turk, remember what I said about keeping that sword handy at all times. And that goes for everyone. If you have any weapons keep them on you at all times. If you don't, see my father. Turk, I want you to teach everything I showed you the other day. Do you remember it all?"

"Of course."

Tor looked up and saw two shapes in the distance, flying through the sky. The unis were almost here. "Everybody be careful. The Assassin is nobody to be messed with. Don't any of you try to take him on. He nearly killed me more than once and has killed many others in the past. If you see him, you run. I cannot stress that enough."

The unis touched down and Tor recognized one as Solarin. "Time to go, Tor," Roberta said sadly. He nodded and strapped his pack to his uni.

When he turned around Aryanna was coming back with the kids. He hated that he had to say goodbye to everyone on such short notice. For all he knew, no matter how he and Roberta called themselves an unbeatable team, they could still die. He began his good-byes starting with Old Man Boggs and Farmer Addison and going through the line. Lucy was already crying having been told that he was leaving.

"Don't cry Lucy. I'll be back before you know it," he said softly.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"And Roberta?"

Tor chuckled and looked over at the sorceress who was saying good-bye to Tessa. "Yeah, she'll come too."

Tor said good-bye to Turk and Aryanna last. He hugged both of them tightly and said, "I'm going to miss the both of you. Be careful."

"That's our line, Tor," Aryanna said, wiping away a tear. "It's been too long to only see you for three days. You had better come back."

Tor smiled. "I'll be back. No worries there. And you had both better be here when I do. Not like the last few times. Better yet, visit me in Meridell one day. I could take a few days off after all this!"

Turk chuckled and slapped him on the shoulder. "Good luck Tor. With everything. Especially dealing with Roberta."

Tor grinned and lightly punched his friend in the arm. He began walking over to his uni and as he climbed onto its back he turned and pointed to Aryanna. "And I will get you back for that little story."

"Yeah right! Get outta here!"

Roberta laughed at the thought of the story of Tor's childhood and turned to the lupe. "Are you ready?"

"Always." He snapped the reins and called out, "Full speed to Meridell!"

…..

"My Lord, the Assassin has taken control of the creatures in Shadowglen Woods," Tor announced, standing in front of King Skarl and Maser Torak with Roberta to his left. Moving at full speed had allowed them to arrive just as it began getting dark and they had immediately called to see the King. "They attacked the farmlands earlier this afternoon. Roberta and I went to check it out and the Assassin was there."

"Hm," King Skarl grunted, stroking his chin. "I wasn't aware that the plants could be controlled. Are you positive of this?"

"Yes, You're Majesty."

"There aren't enough men to send any out to Meri Acres."

"You don't need to," Roberta cut in. "The farmers there are quite capable of handling themselves against the creatures."

"Attacks have happened before," Tor added. "They have always randomly attacked the farms, though it was always just in small groups to destroy a few of the crops. Everyone there is ready for another attack. We came back just after we went to Shadowglen."

"Very well. I suppose my brother will need to hear this bit of news." He glanced at Roberta and she gave him a short nod. "Now both of you get some rest."

Tor walked with Roberta to her room. They were silent the entire way, lost in their own thoughts. Even when they reached her room they just leaned against the door for a while.

"I guess I'm leaving sooner than I expected," She said finally, and Tor noticed she didn't sound very happy about it. "Tomorrow afternoon I'm thinking."

Tor nodded slowly. He couldn't think of anything to say.

"You're worried, aren't you?"

He looked helplessly at the acara. "I didn't want them to be dragged into this. And now this happens! The Assassin keeps ruining everything! I can't even get out of the city unless I am given permission by the King and state where I am going and when I will get back. I have to train every day for hours just so I might have a chance to defeat somebody who has had over a hundred years to train! I wish I could have fought him earlier today, just to get it over with!"

"Tor, you don't need to worry. Everyone will be fine and we'll beat the Assassin. Then it will be back to normal. You'll see. And then you can go sailing like you talked about."

Tor looked at Roberta and smiled. "Turk says you're wrong that there's nothing to see out there."

Roberta smirked and put her hand on the door knob. "And I'm still waiting for you to prove me wrong. Good night, Tor."

"Night."

….

Tor could already see Solarin waiting for them at the East gate. He sighed quietly so that Roberta didn't hear him. There were very few things that had kept him sane the past few weeks and she was it. They'd had months of trying to keep one another sane and now were still trained in that art. Already Tor knew that he would be throwing himself into training harder than ever just so that he had an excuse not to do anything else.

"Tor, be careful," Roberta said quietly and seriously as they neared the gates. Wade and Oliver were on guard and they dipped their heads as he and Roberta walked by. "If I hear that you so much as sprained your ankle I will hit you hard enough that you'll see stars for a month."

"Yes, that will help me fight, I'm sure," Tor joked. Roberta glared at him and he made his face serious again. "Fine, I'll be careful."

"I don't think you even know the meaning."

"I got us through most of Shadowglen undetected."

"That was strategic."

"Which goes hand in hand with 'careful'."

Roberta rolled her eyes and turned to tie her gear onto Solarin's back securely. "Really though, be careful."

"I will. If those werelupes come here again then I will show them what happens when you decide to follow somebody like the Assassin."

"Tor, I don't think that falls under the category of being careful," Roberta said warily.

The knight laughed. "I'm not joking either. I make them regret attacking, but I will do it in a safe and secure way."

Roberta smiled. "I'm sure." She reached out and hugged Tor tightly. "If you can't be careful, then don't be stupid. I won't be around to save your ass this time."

Tor smiled and rested his chin on the top of her head. When they first met they'd been about the same height. Now he was over a foot taller than her and he still seemed to be growing. "I can't make any promises about being stupid. According to my sister, there's no way I could have made it this far with my stupidity."

Roberta laughed, though it was muffled by his armor. She stepped back with a sad expression. "I have to go."

Tor nodded. "You be careful too, Roberta. Stay paranoid."

She grinned and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. Then she climbed onto Solarin's back. "I'll be seeing you, Tor." He nodded and took a step back as she snapped the uni's reins. Tor watched her go until she took to the air. Then he turned around and walked by the guards again and stopped, crossing his arms and thinking what he could to. The pub was his favorite option.

"Hey Tina," Tor greeted the aisha as he walked into the pub. Sat down at the bar in front of a blue techno. "Give me the usual, Pat," he said heavily.

"No problem, Tor." He poured a golden liquid into a mug and slid it across the bar to Tor. "Where's Roberta today?"

"She just left for Brightvale," Tor answered. "Something rather unexpected happened while we were at my farm and she had to go and report to her uncle."

"Oh? What happened?"

"The Assassin has showed up in Shadowglen Woods. The creatures there are now under his control."

"That's terrible!" the bartender gasped. He slowly shook his head. "Things are only going to get worse before they get better. It seems that Meridell has a tough battle ahead."

"Not just Meridell, Pat," Tor murmured. "Everyone does. And we down have enough man power to keep going like this."

Pat shook his head again. "I'm growing too old to see these dark times again."

"I feel older than I should."

…..

Tor walked into his chambers, dragging his feet across the floor. He hadn't spent too much time at the pub and right after he had gone to the training yard, which was a wreck now that he had gotten through with it. He had used up half of his store of motes within a few hours and most of his magical energy. But the results had been impressive to say the least. He would have to teach the others about opening their minds to motes and becoming one with them. It would help in the battles ahead.

He set down his sword on the able along with his armor as he took off the pieces. The knight sighed with relief and looked around his room to make sure that everything was still in the order he had left it. The books that Roberta had left him were still stacked neatly on the chair. He picked up the top book and stared at the cover. The thing had to be as old as the treasure vault and Tor could barely make out the title, _Secrets of Magic. _He opened it to the page Roberta had marked. "Chapter Twelve: Transportation Magic," He read under his breath. "Smoke Step."

Without much else to do but sleep, Tor sat down at his desk and began to read.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie

Chapter 19

The first stage to learning Smoke Step was controlling the time. While in everybody else's eyes everything carried on as normal, the user of the Smoke Step can speed up or slow down the time. Then you haave the ability to disappear and reappear in the same instant somewhere else, or you can disappear for hours at a time. To complete this task, you have to concentrate one what you want to happen before you made the activation movements.

Tor looked at Grayson who was helping him accomplish Smoke Step. He had ordered Grayson to move around so that he could see whether or not it worked. He had read up on what he was supposed to do for three weeks. There were so many things that could go wrong when using transportation magic, such as getting stuck in a vortex. That would be no good.

Slowly Tor raised his hands. There would come a time if he continued to practice that he would not need to make the hand movements to start the first stage of Smoke Step. For now he would use them. With his left hand held with his fingers pointed upwards and his palm held out to his right hand, his right hand formed a fist. He smacked his fist into his palm before pulling it back. His fist opened and he clapped his palms together. He held them there and intertwined his fingers together, his left forefinger still pointed up.

Nothing happened. Grayson was still moving at the same speed even though Tor had been concentrating for the time to slow down. He hadn't really expected to get it right on the first try, but he had still hoped. Like Roberta had once explained, most neopets were not as in touch with there magical core as some others. Though Tor had a stronger core than many, it wasn't like Roberta's or other sorcerers. He could keep doing the same thing for months without results. He would have to continue strengthening his core, meditating, eating things that had magic in them such as purple juppies, and just practicing magic.

Just from practicing and trying to make the time speed part of Smoke Step work, Tor could feel his magic being drained, which was a good sign. That meant that at least there was something happening, even if he wasn't getting noticeable results. Two hours passed and Tor decided to call it quits for the day. He could feel his magic severely depleted.

"So why are you doing this again?" Grayson asked as they walked through the courtyard.

"I need every advantage that I can get to take on the Assassin. He is a master in many magics, including the Smoke Step and he is an incredible swordsman."

"So… you and Roberta combined."

Tor chuckled quietly. "Yes, but better."

Grayson shivered. "Roberta is a little scary when she's…"

"In the zone?"

"Yeah."

Tor grinned. "You get used to it. I thought the same thing when we met, but really, it's a good thing when you're surrounded by enemies. I couldn't imagine doing all that by myself." He pushed open the door and walked into the castle. He stopped and looked down the hallway he was standing in with a small frown, and then glanced at Grayson. "This corridor is normally filled with guards."

Grayson shrugged. "It's about dinner time. They're probably heading down to the dining hall already."

Somehow, Tor didn't think that dinner had anything to do with it, but he continued walking anyway. They rounded the corner into the entrance hall and Tor nearly tripped over his feet when he saw the Brightvale knights, the guards, and some of the Meridell knights standing on either side of the long carpet that led to the Throne Room. He stepped up to Ebard who was standing on the end. He was even more shocked to see Roberta standing on the other side of the carpet, facing him.

"What's going on here?" he asked, looking for Master Torak in the line. The grarrl was not there and Tor suspected that he was in the Throne Room. He turned to Roberta, seeing her grim expression.

"Market Town was attacked last night. Werelupes. And we've heard that the creatures of the swamp have been growing restless, venturing into the village."

Tor drew in a sharp intake of breath and he heard Grayson do the same. He looked at the closed doors of the Throne Room. "A meeting between the Kings?"

"And Guildmaster Marl."

"Do you know of anybody who was killed?" Grayson asked and Roberta looked over at him.

"Your father is fine. But Steen, Palk, and Kaethor were killed. Overall, Market Town was lucky."

Tor now understood why King Hagan had gone through the trouble of coming to Meridell. He looked at Roberta, his expression matching hers. Without a words she crossed the carpet to stand in front of him. "If Maket Town falls, everything goes under with it," he said quietly and Roberta nodded. Market Town was the center of the two Kingdoms. That was where everything came from, food, metals, weapons, everything. "They're declaring war, aren't they?"

"I always thought it would be King Skarl to be the one to initiate it," she said with a rueful smile that confirmed Tor's question. "When my uncle heard he went insane. He ordered a patrol of knights to ready the carriage of the fastest unis to take him here."

Tor shook his head, thinking of the night before. He had felt that same terrible feeling before when the knights left for Illusen's Glade. "We both knew that it wouldn't be much longer." Roberta nodded in agreement. "So what's going to happen next?"

Roberta shrugged. "That's what they're talking about in there. We should be there too."

That was something that everyone in the entrance hall could agree on, even if nobody voiced it. They knew the most about fighting werelupes, ixies, and the plant monsters. They had fought the Assassin on several occasions. Hey had earned their place in the Throne Room for moments like this. Especially Roberta who had grown up a diplomat.

"Is Seradar in there?"

"Yes. As are Torako—Master Torak and Master Caradoc."

Tor ignored her slip with Master Torak, having almost called him by his Altador name. He'd done the same thing before with the grarrl and with Faun. Instead he said, "Master Caradoc?"

"Our last Man at Arms retired. Caradoc took his place before the first attack on Brightvale."

Now Tor remembered Caradoc walking out of King Hagan's Throne Room when he had gone to speak with the King that day. It hadn't crossed his mind then. He glanced at the large oak doors, wishing that he could be in that room. As he looked they opened slowly. Roberta quickly stepped back until she was on the edge of the carpet. Nobody spoke as Master Torak came to stand on Tor's left, closest to the Kings and the Guildmaster of Market Town. Master Caradoc was on Roberta's right, across from Master Torak. Everyone looked at the kings.

"These attacks have gone far enough," King Skarl spoke. "It is time that we strike back. We will begin preparations for war."

"Messangers will be sent out to the other villages and give them word," King Hagan said. "Everybody from the age of fifteen and older will fight. Weapons and armor will be given out."

Tor stepped forward and all eyes fell on him. "I can travel out to the farm lands and start spreading word there. And I have extra armor that may be used."

"Very well," King Skarl grunted. "But afterwards you will immediately travel to Brightvale. You and Roberta have the most experience and we have decided that the two of you will make the battle plans."

"Yes Your Majesty," Tor dipped his head and moved back into place. He glanced over at Roberta and she gave him a small nod. He could practically see all of the ideas just swarming through her head. And he had a few of his own too.

The two groups began to disperse, Guildsmaster Marl heading out with those of Brightvale and the Meridell knights and guards began to make preparations. Tor caught Roberta's arm just before she walked out the door.

"I'll see you in a day or two. I've got some ideas and I know that you do too," he said quietly.

Roberta nodded and gave him a very brief hug. "I'll start writing everything down. I'll see you in Brightvale. Be careful."

"You too."

Tor bypassed everyone to get to his chambers. He equipped his armor and went into the trunk at the foot of his bed. The bottomless sack was at the top. He threw in extra clothes, his neopoints, and anything else he might need until he next returned to Meridell, including his books. Once finished he made his way back downstairs. He knew that a uni would be waiting for him at the North Gate.

"Tormund!"

The lupe looked over at Master Torak who had been standing in the shadows of a pillar. As he watched the grarrl stepped forward, followed by Servant Faun. "Yes sir?" he questioned, feeling rather confused by the appearance of the second Altadorian hero.

"We must speak to you quickly, Young Master," Faun said quietly, addressing Tor as she normally did. Tor looked at her, his confusion growing even more.

"Our time here is growing thin," Torakor said. "After the final battle we will be gone."

Tor looked back and forth between the two, past imagaes of them floating through his mind. Torakor had taught him nearly everything he knew about fighting. Fauna had showed him that every being, even miamice, deserved to be treated fairly. They had been his mentors as a squire. "What do you mean? You… you can't leave!"

"We must," Fauna said with a sad smile. "We came here to ensure that you, the chosen one, would take the right path. We guided you for as long as we could, and you have done very well. We have no reason to be here any longer."

"But… if you just leave then there will be questions."

"Not if I were to die in battle," Torakor said even though Tor knew that he hated the mere thought of losing in battle, even if it was all going to be fake.

"And nobody will notice the disappearance of a mere servant," Fauna said. She reached up and put a hand on Tor's shoulder. "This may very well be the last time we meet. I wish you luck, Sir Tormund Ellis."

Tor dipped his head solemnly to both of the heroes. "Thank you for telling me beforehand. And this will not be the last time we meet. You aren't leaving until after the battle after all."

…

Apparently it had been a bit of a picnic that day at the farms. When Tor landed all of the children had been sitting around Old Man Boggs, listening to one of his stories. Turk, Arnie, Aryanna, and Jamie were all sitting on a fence. His parents were with Tessa, Addison, Carla, Bruce and Sandy at a small picnic table. Now everybody was standing in a familiar U shape in front of Tor. The kids were in Tessa's house as were Tor's orders.

"War is beginning," he announced. "Market Town was attacked by the werelupes last night. I'm sure that you are all aware that if Market Town goes under, so does everywhere else. Right now Meridell and Brightvale are preparing for an attack. It is King Skarl's and King Hagan's orders that all men will be participating if they are over the age of fifteen. Women have the choice, the same as it has always been."

"And what of Cogham and Bogshot?" Bruce asked skeptically. "It won't be only us, will it?"

"Of course not. Messengers have been sent to both villages. Those of Market Town will also be participating, as will those of Brightvale and Meridell. Soon I will be going to Brightvale to help Roberta come up with a plan for battle. Word will be sent with those plans. As for weapons, I will provide them. Tomorrow morning everyone who will be fighting meet at my parents' house. Do not worry about how my armor will fit. All of it requires only a drop of blood and it will fit to you."

"And what of the kids?" Tessa asked. "What do we tell them?"

"Nothing yet." Tor smiled wistfully. "I remember being a kid and I loved these days. I know that they do too. So for tonight, just keep celebrating. I'll leave it up to you all to speak to them when you feel that the time is right."

"When are you leaving again?" Aryanna asked.

Tor glanced up at the sky. It would be after midnight if he were to leave for Brightvale now, and he had to make sure that everyone got their armor and weapons in the morning. "Tomorrow morning. I have to get to Brightvale, but it's too late to leave now. One more thing before the kids come back out. Have the farmlands been attacked since I left."

"Not once," his father answered. "Now relax for a little whil. You look like you need it. Tessa, you go and tll the children that they can come back outside now."

Soon they began to disperse into the same groups as before. Tor joined Turk, Aryanna, Jamie, and Arnie on the fence while the kids switched to playing hide and seek. Tor looked at his friends, all of whom were staring at him with unreadable expressions.

"What?"

"You look stressed," Aryanna commented.

"War was declared today," he snapped. "What do you expect? I've been training since before the sun came up and then that was thrown on me!"

"You were expecting it to happen sooner or later," Turk reminded him. "You warned us of this before you left. Addison has been carrying his bow on his back everywhere, and I always have my sword on me."

"Good. Stay in that habbit, because you'll be called out soon. I've got plans already, and so does Roberta."

"How is she?" Aryanna questioned. Tor shrugged.

"I haven't seen her in nearly as long as it's been since I've been here. Stressed I guess. She's got to be happy that her uncle is willingly putting her on the frontlines rather than forcing her not to fight. Not like he would succeed in that though."

"And what about you?" Jamie asked. "How have you been until today?"

Tor looked over at the slightly older acara. She only had about two years on him so she had always been fairly close with them. "I've been training a lot. Trying different techniques for when I fight the Assassin. I've been working on a transportation technique called Smoke Step. If I can learn that then I might get the advantage of surprise. I just have to strengthen my magical core by practicing."

"I thought that very few neopets could do magic," Arnie said.

"That's how most think," Tor nodded, remembering Roberta's many explanations on the subject. "But it's not true. Some neopets are just born with a stronger core, like Roberta for example, and those neopets normally pick up spells very easily. But everyone has a magical core and everyone has the ability to strengthen it and do magic. I don't plan on doing all that much, just learn a few different things that will give me an advantage."

"Will there be enough armor for everyone?" Turk asked.

"There should be enough. And if not I'll have some sent from Meridell. Turk, before the battle begins I want you to teach everyone the fighting moves I showed you."

"I have been doing that already. Arnie picked them up pretty quick actually."

The younger techno looked at Tor. "Will I really have to fight?"

Tor nodded slowly. "You're fifteen. Those are the rules. But don't worry too much about it. Everyone will be working together here. Nobody will be left behind. I'll be there too."

Arnie smirked. "Well that's promising."

Tor gave him an indignant look. "I am a knight of first class and a Hero of Neopia! And I have fought countless of these monsters!"

"I'm sure."

Tor clamped his mouth shut and glared at Arnie. Jamie, Aryanna and turk were all shaking with laughter. "Why is it that every time I come back, you all love to make fun of me."

"It's only because we care about you," Aryanna grinned and nudged him. "And at least we aren't telling Roberta embarrassing stories about you."

"I will never forgive you for that. Roberta is never going to let me live it down."

"That was the plan all along."

….

Everything seemed to shimmer. That was Tor's first clue that he had done something right. His second clue was that he was unable to move his feet. He hadn't activated that step yet. His third clue was a butterfly. It seemed to just hover in the air, but when he continued to watch Tor realized that it was moving ever so slowly. Happy with his success, Tor murmured, "Grant me the ability to move freely and in return I shall offer my blood to you."

That was what the book had told him to do. Tor didn't quite undersand why his blood was necessary, but who was he to argue? He felt a small breeze and he raised his arms and moved his feet. He had only a minute to give his blood, so he took out his sword and ran his thumb down the blade. He held his hand out to the side, his thumb pointing down and watched as three drops hit the ground.

Tor looked around. There was not a single movement currently visible. He took a step forward and looked down at his feet. When his right foot touched the ground, it seemed to ripple like disturbed water. He walked up to the butterfly and reached out to grab it. His hand only passed straight through the tiny creature, causing the air to ripple.

Suddenly he began to feel lightheaded. His magic supply was being drained from the technique. Quickly he canceled the magic. Purple smoke appeared around him as he stepped back into normal time. Tor dropped to his knees, gasping for breath.

"Are you alright?"

The familiar voice seemed to come out of nowhere. Tor looked up in shock. "Roberta? What are you doing here?"

The acara rolled her eyes and sat down in front of him with crossed legs. "My uncle was worried. He had expected you in Brightvale last night. I tried to tell him that you most likely spnt the night with your family, but he sent me anyway."

"He really thinks I need to be checked up on?"

"In times like these, who can be sure of anything anymore?" Roberta frowned and looked at the whinnies in their pen for a few moments. Tor followed her gaze and noticed Solarin grazing next to his own uni. "So you learned Smoke Step already?"

"That's the first time I was successful actually. And that drained me a lot as you can see."

"Well that can be fixed with practice. I've been working on healing spells these past few weeks, along with Smoke Step."

"Any luck with it?"

Roberta nodded. "About as much as you have. I think that being able to heal wounds is a bigger priority for me." She looked over to the farm gates and Tor pricked his ears. He could pick out the sound of approaching footsteps. A few seconds later several neopets came into view. There was Turk, already in his armor, Arnie, Bruce, Farmer Addison, Jamie and Aryanna.

At the sight of the two acaras Tor did a double take. Were they really choosing to be in the battle? He looked at Roberta, knowing that she was sharing his thoughts. Slowly they got to their feet and waited for the group to approach. The sound of a door opening let Tor know that his father was coming to join them.

"Roberta, what are you doing here?" Aryanna asked with a large smile.

"I was sent to see if Tor was alright. And I brought extra armor just in case, and Addison, I have something else for you."

Tor raised his eyebrows questioningly, but said nothing as he led the way to the weapon shed. Roberta whistled to Solarin and the uni trotted over to her side. "What do you have for him?" Tor asked curiously, leaning down to whisper in her ear.

Roberta grinned. "You'll see. I think you'll appreciate it just as much."

Tor frown in thought as he unlocked the door. Roberta lowered a large sack off of Solarin's back and he could hear metal moving around from inside of it. He walked inside and looked around thoughtfully. "Dad, you'll take my gilded armor. It's pretty heavy as far as they go, so I think you would be the best match. As for a shield and sword," Tor opened a crate and lifted out a round shield with Altador's crest along with a matching sword. "I bought these from Altador. They're light so you won't have trouble moving around, even with the heavy armor.

"Arnie, I want you to have the very first armor I bought as a knight, along with the shield and sword that go with it. Turk help him put it on. Bruce, Roberta will have armor for you."

"Alright, so what about us?" Aryanna asked. "You don't have any more armor."

Tor looked at her, and then at Jamie. "You two don't have to fight," he said quietly. "We have enough fighters already between the other knights and the men who live in Meridell and Brightvale. You two don't have to do this."

"We're fighting Tor," Jamie said defiantly. "The rules say that women get to choose. We've made our choice."

Tor looked between the two sisters several times, not knowing what to think. It was bad enough that Turk was fighting, but now the three others that he had grown up with were too. Finally Tor nodded and turned to Roberta. "I have three more swords. Give them armor."

Roberta nodded and the two sisters walked over to her. Tor looked at Addison. "What about me Tor?" the scorchio asked. I won't be all that useful with a sword."

Tor nodded. "You're an amazing bowman, and I don't know what Roberta has for you, but I do want you to keep a sword at all times." He turned and reached into a barrel, pulling a sword out by the blade and holding the hilt to Addison. "This was the sword that I trained with as a squire."

With everyone now equipped with their armor and swords, Tor walked out of the shed and joined Roberta. Aryanna had gotten his kreludan blade and he had given Jamie the sword he picked up on his way to the treasure vault when the statue had been destroyed. Everyone lined up in front of them, dressed in shining armor, except for Addison. Roberta turned and opened the sack again, bringing out blood red and blue robes with golden trim. She held them out to Addison.

"These are special archer's robes. They are woven with protective magic, much like my own battle robes and the way Tor's armor was made with protective magic." Once Addison had taken his new robes and had begun putting them on over his clothes, Roberta went back to the sack and pulled out a bow along with a leather quiver of arrows. The bow was made of pine and engraved with intricate designs that Tor was easily able to recognize as Altadorian symbols. He had seen the same designs all across the city of Altador in every district. When Roberta had bought the bow, he didn't know.

"These are all from Altador. You should try practicing with it a little to get the feel of it, but from what Tor has said I doubt you will have any problems." She looked at Tor her grin disappearing. "We have to get going you know."

"Yeah… I know."

She put her hand on his shoulder. "I'll give you a few minutes here, and then you can say goodbye to your mother and sister."

"Thanks."

Roberta whistled to Solarin who had been sniffing around the shed and the uni trotted after her as she walked back down to the house. Tor looked back at everybody already feeling heavy. How many times would he have to say goodbye to these neopets without knowing if he would ever see them again?


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Sorry about that long wait. I've had the chapter done for a long time to be honest. There was actually no reason not to upload it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie

Chapter 21

It took four more days to complete and refine the battle plan. Tor and Roberta would wake in the morning and meet in the Library. One of them would always be there when the other walked in, working out a few kinks. One the second day the Guildmaster of Market Town sent the names of those fighting from Market Town. A similar note came from Bogshot. On the third day a messenger from Meridell arrived at the castle with a list of names of those who would participate in battle from Meridell, Cogham, and the farms. By the fourth day Tor and Roberta were able to create several battle groups with those names.

By that evening Roberta had practically mastered Smoke Step. She barely had to think about doing it and they had discovered that she could ravel as far as Bogshot in the blink of an eye. Tor was well on his way to that point too, and with a few more days put aside for training, he would have it. That skill would give them a great advantage for the final battle, and not just in taking down the Assassin.

The next morning Tor would leave once again to take a copy of the plans to Meridell.

Tor tilted back the chair he was sitting in. Out the window he could see that darkness was falling fast and he sighed. It was growing tiresome to be traveling back and forth like he was, never resting for more than a few hours. His days had been filled with constant training or planning since he had gotten back from his visit to the farms when they discovered what had befallen Shadowglen. He looked out the window and sighed once again before letting his chair fall flat. He walked out of his chambers and down the hall a little ways.

"You mustn't push yourself so hard, Roberta!" a voice that was familiar to Tor carried on around the corner.

"I'm fine, Donna!" Roberta shot back in an agitated voice that let Tor recognize that Roberta and Princess Donna must have been arguing for a while at this point. He slowed his pace and stopped before he rounded the corner. Tor leaned against the wall in the shadows and pricked his ears up to listen.

"I don't think you are! What point is there to stressing yourself out like this? You train day in and day out. For the past few days if you weren't training you were planning for this wretched battle with Sir Tormund. You've barely slept these past weeks and you haven't been off the castle grounds since the day you returned!"

"I've slept plenty, I have been out of the castle many times, and even if what you just said was true, it's none of your concern anyway!" Tor winced, feeling sorry for King Hagan's daughter. He never wanted to be at the receiving end of Roberta's anger. And if she found out that he was listening in, then he would be.

"Don't tell me what to be concerned about!" Princess Donna hissed. "I'm your cousin, practically your sister. I can clearly see that something is wrong."

"Apparently your vision is more blurred than I thought."

Donna made a noise of aggravation and disgust. "Ugh! I have half a mind to ask your father to speak with you."

Once again, Tor winced for Donna's sake. One never brought up Roberta's parents in front of her. Tor barely knew to story of what happened with that, and even then the telling was short and clipped. Roberta's mother, Alice had died when Roberta was six. Her father had sent her to live with King Hagan while he ran off. What happened in those next ten years, Roberta didn't know. She had no clue why her father would start up a conspiracy against King Hagan, nor did she care. Or so she said.

"Don't you dare bring up that traitor!" It was rare to hear that sort of anger in her voice. It could send King Skarl into shivers of fear. "Your father should have put him deeper into the castle's dungeons!" There was a short pause and then, "Tor, get out here!"

The knight froze. He looked around for anything that might have given him away and noticed his shadow from one of the candles behind him. It was in clear view of anybody walking down the hallway. Roberta called his name again, more sharply and Tor's shoulder's sagged with defeat. There would be no escaping the wrath. He sheepishly stepped out of his hiding place and walked up to the two acaras, avoiding eye contact. He bowed once to Donna. "Princess."

"Sir Tormund." Her voice sounded much calmer than it had moments before and Tor looked up, feeling a little more confident. And then he saw Roberta's burning eyes and he gulped.

"Roberta. I uh… I didn't mean to…"

"Forget it, Tor. How much did you hear?"

Tor rubbed the back of his head. "From 'you mustn't push yourself so hard.'"

"And what's your opinion?"

Tor's eyes widened a fraction. "Me? I didn't hear the entire conversation so I don't really know what—"

"Do you think I have reason to be concerned?" Donna cut him off quickly.

Tor looked back and forth between the two. Roberta trained as much as he did and got about as much sleep as he did too. Which was hardly any. It was hard to sleep when they could only think about what would happen in just a few days. She had been rather silent too, the past few days, with a constant, thoughtful and worried expression. Tor turned to the sorceress who was waiting for his answer, arms folded over her chest. "You have been acting different lately and you know it. What's the point of being so secretive?"

"I'm not being secretive!"

The knight rolled his eyes and crossed his own arms. "And you're stubborn." He looked around, feeling eyes on them and noticed a few servants peeking around the same corner that he had been hiding behind. They immediately darted away and Tor turned back to Roberta. "Talk to me, Roberta. You know you can."

"There is nothing to talk about," she insisted stubbornly.

Tor glanced over at the princess and rolled his eyes. He lightly grabbed Roberta by the shoulder and began to lead her away. "Be back in a bit!" he called over his shoulder to Donna as he rounded the corner, scattering the group of servants lurking there. He turned into his room and shut the door behind them. "What's going on?"

Roberta groaned and clapped her hands over her eyes as she fell back onto his bed. "Nothing is going on! How many times do I need to say it?"

"Only until you decide you speak up." Tor sat down in the same chair that he had been tipping in before and lit the single candle on his desk. He looked over at Roberta, still sprawled on his bed with her hands over her eyes. "And I can wait."

"You're leaving tomorrow, remember. Right now you should be packing."

"I've got time. Besides, I wouldn't mind staying in Brightvale a while longer." He waited for an answer, but one never came and he sighed. "So… this about the battle, right? You're scared."

Roberta sat up and glared at him. "Of course I'm scared! This is nothing like fighting the Darkest Faerie, Tor."

"I'm aware of that. And I'm scared too. But why couldn't you just say that before instead of arguing with us? Everybody feels the same way. You can feel the fear in the air wherever you go." Tor said grimly.

"Exactly! We're supposed to be the ones that aren't afraid of anything. We're Heroes of Neopia. Defenders of the Kingdoms. We've accomplished so many things, defeated so many monsters. And now we're afraid to fight."

Despite the serious situation, Tor chuckled. He felt as though they had switched places. Roberta would normally be the calm one. "And you called Donna blind."

"I'm sorry?"

Tor moved from the chair to the bed and sat down next to her. "Being scared is no big deal. It's normal. Do you think that if I weren't scared I would be outside training long before the sun came up and long after it went down? And out of anyone, you probably have the least to be worried about. You could beat the Assassin with your hands tied behind your back."

Roberta rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt that. I'm not good enough yet. He's had over a hundred more years than I've had."

"Then he's probably getting rusty in his old age. You have Seradar, the royal sorcerer training you! There are very few more powerful than him!"

Roberta only shrugged. "Maybe."

"How many times have you told me that everything would be fine? That there was no way we could lose. That we're an unbeatable team." Tor said. Roberta looked up at him and Tor gave her a small smile. "Why don't you believe that now? It's not like I was a child needing to be reassured. It was the truth. We won't lose."

Maybe it was the conviction in his voice that brought Roberta back to her senses, or maybe just the words themselves. But she finally nodded and a tiny smile played at her lips. "You might be right, Tor."

"Might?" Tor questioned, pretending to be offended. "I believe that I'm completely right."

"I think that's pushing it."

Tor laughed and shook his head. His face grew serious again as he looked over at the acara sorceress. "Do you feel better now though?"

Roberta smiled at him. She nodded slowly. "Much. Thanks Tor."

He shrugged. If you ever need somebody to talk to, Meridell isn't all too far away on a uni."

"I'll keep that in mind." She slid off the edge of the bed and Tor stood up with her. Roberta turned and wrapped her arms around his back in a quick hug. She pulled back before Tor could even think of returning it. "Get some rest, Tor. You'll be leaving early."

Tor frowned. He hadn't been lying earlier when he had joked about staying in Brightvale a little longer. Though the fear of battle had set in throughout the city and you could constantly see the neopets glancing warily around, there was still something peaceful about being there. And he always missed it after he left. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I should sleep some." _If I can. _He smiled watched Roberta walk over to his door, murmuring a quiet goodnight. She opened the door and jumped back as Princess Donna fell into the room, stumbling before she caught herself.

"DONNA!" Roberta shouted, glaring harshly at her cousin. Donna looked sheepishly back, but did not even cringe at the expression on Roberta's face. "You were spying!"

"I was not!" the princess denied and Tor couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the blatant lie. "I was merely…"

"Spying," Roberta finished, her hand slowly inching toward her wand. Donna noticed and quickly looked at Tor, mouthing a silent 'Thank you' before turning and running. It wasn't very princess-like, and more childish than he had ever seen Donna be. Roberta sighed in agitation and stormed away, wand in hand.

….

Tor walked between his uni and Roberta along the streets that led to the city's gate. They walked slowly, taking their time and prolonging the walk subconsciously, even stopping to talk to everyone they ran into so that Tor could say goodbye. He was given many gifts from the shopkeepers who seemed to have been aware that he was leaving and were standing at the entrances to their shops in wait.

When they reached the gates, both guards bowed deeply. "Milady, Sir Knight."

Tor and Roberta merely nodded to them and continued walking down the road a little ways, stopping in a familiar spot. Tor stared at a single pine tree on his left. This was where they had first encountered the Assassin. He turned to Roberta and from the pensive expression on her face as she gently ran her fingers through the uni's mane, he knew that the same thing was running through her mind.

"Do you think he knows what's happening?"

Tor let his gaze rake through the tree lines, trying to catch a glimpse of anything out of the ordinary, until he let it rest on Roberta's face. She was looking away from him, into the forest to the right. "I'm sure he does. In fact, I would bet every last neopoint I own on it."

"Me too," she whispered, letting her hand fall to her side. The uni grunted softly and she continued stroking it. Tor doubted she even realized what she was doing. Like Fauna, Roberta had that special love for all creatures. Even the miamice that Tor still saw as pests even if he wouldn't dare hurt one purposely. She looked up at Tor, her expression somber. "I've said this before, but I'll continue to say it because I don't think that you're getting it completely. I want you to be careful. No unnecessary risks, no stupid, heroic decisions. I want to see you when we get to the meeting place, completely whole."

Tor nodded, for once not trying to crack a joke to ease the situation. "The same goes for you, even though I know that you won't do something stupid like I probably will. If you see the Assassin, fight with everything you have and send a messenger to me. I'll be there as soon as possible."

"You had better do the same, Tor." She hugged him tightly and Tor returned it immediately before she could step away. This could very well be the last time that he would see her. "Good luck, Tor." She lowered her arms and stepped away.

"You too. And I _will _see you after the battle." He pulled himself up onto his steed and gave Roberta and the walls of Brightvale one last fleeting looked before he dug his heels into the uni's sides and rode away.

…

"Welcome back, Sir Tormund," Guardsman Korbin greeted him as he dismounted the uni. It flew off to the courtyard stables where Tor knew a servant would unload his gear and take it to his room.

"Korbin. Has anything happened since I've been gone?" he asked while the guard opened the castle doors.

"All has been quiet. Unnaturally quiet."

Tor thought back to his conversation with Roberta hours before about the Assassin. Perhaps he was preparing for a battle too. Tor suppressed a shudder as he walked inside, immediately confronted with Master Torak. Tor bowed his head to the Hero. "The plans are ready. I must speak to the King to discuss them."

Torakor nodded his massive head. "The other knights should hear this too."

"I'll send the squires to gather them. We'll meet in the throne room."

It was mere minutes before Tor stood in the King's Throne Room beside King Skarl himself. A copy of the plans were spread out on a table before him, the other knights gathered around to see, along with a long scroll of the names of the neopets in the battle.

"Now, everyone will be split into groups. One group from Meridell will travel out to Shadowglen Woods along with the farmers. In this group will be myself and from the farms, Hubert Ellis, Arnie, Turk and Bruce Witherson, and Jamie and Aryanna Crowley. With us will be Sir Ignatius, Sir Luthor, Sir Aldwin, and then Pat from the pub, Dumpus, and Guardsman Korbin. Once in Shadowglen we'll split up into two groups and begin the attack from the East and West sides of Shadowglen and meet in the center."

"It says here that Addison is at the age of 64," Ebard said. "Should he be fighting? And you're allowing women into battle?"

Tor looked at the other lupe with a frown. Who was he to question the decisions that he and Roberta had worked for days to make. "Women are allowed to fight if they wish, and out at the farms we see plant creatures several times a year. Everybody knows how to fight them from the age of twelve. As for Addison, you did not allow me to finish." Tor pointed to the area where his farm would be, his finger making a line into Shadowglen directly. "Right here there is a tunnel that leads straight into Shadowglen. This is the path that Addison will take. It comes out to a high area where you can see the entirety of the glen. Addison may be old, but he is the best bowman I have ever seen and he could still swing a sword if need be."

He sent Ebard a last pointed look before pointing to Cogham. "At the same time, a second group consisting of Sir Ebard, Sir Grayson, Sir Lawrence, Squire Dawson, Vonkar, Rognus the smithy, and Inga the armorer will be led to the Cogham steppes by Master Torak. There you will meet up with the villagers. All of them over the age of sixteen will be fighting, women included. As backup, Sir Cadmere, Squire Zachariah, Guardsman Laertes, Tristan, and Gamzan will go up onto the top most cliffs and watch out for Ixies. Those of this group are the best with bows. They will take out the Ixi Archers and make a break for the other ground group to move through to fight the Spearmen."

"Whoever on the list I did not name will stay here in Meridell to guard the city. Should worst come to worst, they may attack here or Brightvale or Market Town. I want it to be made known that nobody is to engage the Assassin in battle.

"And if he attacks one of us first?" Lawrence asked. "You can't just expect me to run away."

Tor looked to his friend. "The Assassin will not attack anybody other that Roberta and I." He refused to say anymore on that matter and turned once again to the map, waving his hand over Bogshot Swamp, Brightvale, and Market Town. "At the same time that this is all going on, a small group of Brightvale's villagers will be in Bogshot, helping to fight off the monsters there. Not many are needed there. This group will only consist of 5 neopets from Brightvale. Another thirty-six will meet up with fifty more from Market Town."

"So many?" Grayson questioned. Tor gave him an annoyed look at the stupid question.

"The numbers that the werelupes have are far greater than that even. You were at the attack on Brightvale during the celebration. The amount of werelupes when we got there isn't even half of what there really is. And we were all nearly overwhelmed then, even if we were caught off guard. Anyway, Roberta and Master Caradoc will lead two separate patrols and sweep down from either ends of the beach until they meet at the den. Then their groups will go separate ways in the caverns, Roberta's going to the upper level and Mater Caradoc will take his group to the lower levels."

"It's going to be hard to fight in the tunnels," Master Torak pointed out. "There won't be much room to swing a sword, especially when it gets to the point where everyone will be pushed together."

Tor nodded in agreement. ""That's why they won't be doing much fighting in the tunnels. They are merely going to lure the pack out onto the beach where a third group will be waiting to join in. And everybody in these groups should already be doing training that will help them fight in close quarters." Tor turned back to the map and pointed to a circle drawn in the center. "This here is the lake near the cross roads where each party will meet once their battle has been finished. I was told that all fighters will have access to unis. Here there will be healers waiting to tend to any wounded. There will also be healers at each of the battles to take care of any serious injuries. They'll be out of the way of the battle but close enough to give care to anyone who needs it.

"It would be best to strike before the sun rises," Tor continued. "We'll try to catch the enemy off guard. I was thinking that everybody should be in place by five am. It will be another hour and a half before the sun rises, and the enemy will still be sleeping. Roberta and I decided to begin the attack five days from now. King Hagan agreed, as did Guildmaster Marl." He looked at King Skarl questioningly. The skeith had his eyes narrowed in a thoughtful expression. Still he gave the impression that he was angry. Until a ruthless grin appeared on his face.

"I like it. Torak, make sure that all who need to know are aware of these plans."

"Yes Sire."

"Disperse!"

The knight bowed deeply and exited the Throne Room. Tor went straight for the doors of the castle, intending to get a few things done before he retired for the day. But before he knew it, Grayson was at his side and looking eager to talk.

"Great job with those plans Tor!" the green lupe grinned. "You've got more tactic than I thought!"

Tor couldn't help but grin as he and Grayson walked out of the castle. The sun was starting to get low in the sky, but there was still plenty of daylight left. "Thanks, Grayson."

"No problem. Where are you going anyway?"

"I've got to gather some things that I need to prepare. Potions, healing supplies, neggs, motes, whatever I might need."

"Oh." Grayson looked thoughtful for a few moments. "I wasn't aware that you could get neggs in Meridell. I thought you had to go to Illusen' glade since they're not really sought after here. You don't see many magic users here, maybe two if that."

Tor smirked. "Looks like you've still got a lot to learn about this place. And you've been here for how long exactly?" Tor chuckled. "You're right that neggs aren't popular here. But there are still ways to get them. I know that Kauvara tends to buy them from the glade since many neggs do have magical properties. Some strengthen your magical core directly, little by little. If you ask nicely, she'll sell you a few from her own supply. And they're pretty top notch. I've had better though. Or Gamon over at his little curio shop. He always has a good variety. And I'll let you in on a little secret." Tor looked around quickly and leaned slightly over to Grayson. "The thieves like them a bit too."

Grayson gaped. A knight, associating with thieves. Thieves who constantly wreaked havoc for the castle's guards and knights. Tor would have thought it impossible at one point too. But they had a bit of an understanding now. "You're kidding!"

"Not a bit. Like I said, you've got much to learn about this place."

"I've lived here longer than you!"

"And I'm away from the castle way more than you so I've had the chance to pick these things up before you." Tor pushed open the apothecary's door and the potion fumes assaulted the lupes' noses. "How are you doing today, Angus?" Tor asked as they entered the shop. A cauldron was bubbling in the center of the shop and Tor refrained from looking in it.

"What can I do you for?" Angus asked. He wiped his claws on a handkerchief and walked behind the counter, back into shopkeeper mode.

"Alright, I'm going to need two Meerca speed potions, two power potions, and another weaker energy restorer."

"Sure thing. Would tomorrow be good?"

Tor nodded. "Yes, what's the cost?"

"Well, the two Meerca speeds are a thousand together. The powers restoratives are one fifty a piece and the last in only fifty. So that's 1,350 in total. Just come by with it when you get your order. Anything for you Grayson?"

"Not today. I haven't thought about what I need yet."

Angus turned serious and Tor felt the air suddenly turn a little colder. "You had better get to it." He murmured. "There isn't much time left."


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: VIOLENCE! The battle begins.

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie

Chapter 21

Tor did not normally feel fear. But in the days nearing the battle his fear had escalated continuously, nearly overwhelming him. The knight threw himself into rigorous training to keep his thoughts from straying into darkness. But now, standing in front of the black forest of Shadowglen Woods, the time nearing five in the morning, he felt nothing but calm. He turned to the patrol behind him and met the eyes of Hubert. "It's time. Addison should be there by now. Once we enter the forest we'll split up. Arnie, Turk, Korbin, Aldwin, and Dumpus, you're with me. Ignatius, you need to lead the second patrol starting from the western side. My father and Bruce will help you to navigate." Tor looked at the two healers that were with them, two young aishas not much older than himself. "Daphne, you'll go with us. Ashlee, you're with Ignatius."

"Alright, Tor. And if my team sees the Assassin?" Ignatius asked.

Tor reached into a pouch hanging from his belt and pulled out a metal sphere the size of his fist. "This is a smoke bomb. All you've got to do it pull this pin out right here and it will release smoke. I'll have my eye out for it."

Ignatius looked at the smoke bomb curiously, it being a foreign object to him. "Where'd you get this?"

"I know a guy." Actually, Tor had gotten it from Rory, along with two more. He shady map seller had figured that he might find it useful in the battle. "Now, from this point on, no more talking. You have to work together. These creatures aren't all too hard to fight, but there's a lot of them. Keep Daphne and Ashlee away from harm. If you're hit, get to one of them before the poison spreads. We'll meet at the Northern tip at the big sycamore. Everyone ready?" When nobody responded, Tor moved forward, keeping his sword in his sheath. An air mote was already equipped, the strongest Tor could find in his store. Even in the sheath there was still a faint, silver glow, tinted with a light blue.

It was so dark in the tunnel that Tor was just barely able to see ahead of him. But when he turned a corner Shadowglen came into view, small amounts of light filtering through the trees. Tor looked to Ignatius and pointed to the west, indicating that it was time to split up. The neopets formed into two groups, moving to their respective sides. Tor slid out of the tunnel and moved with his group into the trees at the edge of the large clearing. He looked at Turk and hissed, "Keep your eyes to the right and watch through the trees. Aldwin, Dumpus, you do the same."

The three nodded and followed the order, fixing their eyes on their right side to watch for anything sneaking through the trees. Tor continued on, keeping his footsteps light and silent. The others copied his movements to keep quiet. Not a single plant monster could be seen though and soon Tor began to feel uneasy. Had the Assassin known of the attack?

There was a small sound out in the clearing and Tor came to a halt, holding up his right hand to signal his team to stop. The sound had been quiet and he barely heard it, but it had sounded like some low grumbling noise. Tor looked at his team. "Stay here." Nobody questioned the order. Tor knew better than any of them what he was doing. He slid silently from the trees, keeping his hand on his sword hilt as he crept forward toward the sound. He kept low, crouching behind boulders and crawling on the ground in the cover of a fallen tree. Now the sound was distinctly louder.

Tor peeked over the side of the fallen tree; just enough so that he could see what was on the other side. Two plant creatures were moving back and forth, passing one another just inches from where Tor was hiding. He dropped back down onto his stomach and waited, holding his breath before poking his head back up. He could see no other creatures in the area. The two that were pacing turned at the same time and began heading toward one another and Tor quickly hid again, waiting until they passed by him. Then, quick as a flash, he vaulted over the side of the tree, pulling his sword from his sheath, and sliced the head from one of the creatures. The other one turned at the sound of the head hitting the ground, but before it could make a sound, its head was also rolling over the ground, leaving a bright green trail of ooze. Tor grimaced at the mess.

Before Tor could begin to think about his next move, there was the drumming of footsteps, but it wasn't the footsteps of his team. He knew that. If it was them then he wouldn't hear anything at all as long as they obeyed his order to keep quiet. Tor ducked behind a particularly large mushroom that hid him completely in its shadow. A large group of all species of the monsters that resided in Shadowglen ran past him, there movement awkward, but at the same time in sync. Tor stayed where he was until they had gone and then he ran, still managing to keep his footsteps light.

He took a wide circle around the creatures and ran through the trees until he came face to face with the tip of a sword. He followed the blade up to the wielder's face.

"Tor!" Turk hissed in surprise, lowering the sword. Behind him was the rest of the group, still watching for attackers.

"Follow me. There's a group of them heading eastern corner it looks like. We can cut them off and get rid of them. Then we'll meet up with Ignatius at the Northern point as planned."

"Lead the way then."

Tor took the lead again, moving at a quick pace. He didn't want to lose the targets. But it wasn't long before he saw them, still awkwardly running, some with long arms that flailed around and some that hopped on all fours like large, leaved mortogs. Instead of fighting, or carried on past them a few yards around a bend to the right so that they were out of sight. Then Tor stopped and turned toward the others. "Just stay here. When you see them come around the corner, we'll jump out and attack them by surprise. Daphne, you take cover here."

"Ah, how we gonna kill them things?" Dumpus asked, scratching his head. Tor began to wonder why he put the drunkard on his team.

"You've got a sword. You swing it. Want my advice? Aim for the heads." He pricked his ears up and heard the sound of rapid footsteps, or whatever those creatures used to walk. He readied his sword. "They're here."

He leaped out of the trees just as the first monster came around the bend. Tor blasted it away with a gust of piercing wind. Three more were caught in the crossfire and ripped to shreds. Tor leapt to the side as monsters began spitting their acid at him. Unfortunately, Dumpus wasn't able to raise his shield in time and caught some of the acid above his eye. Tor sent him back to Daphne and sent Arnie to cover him back to the tree line. Already everyone was in full battle.

For Tor, the plant creatures were no challenge. He'd fought so many of them within his lifetime and he knew every weak spot they had. He could move far faster than them, and easily outmaneuver them. They were nothing. That was part of the reason he had put himself here when making the battle plans. He could take all of the monsters on his own, except for Roberta. The small army behind him wouldn't even be needed.

Just as the battle thinned out Tor heard the clamor of more of the creatures making their way toward the group, having heart the racket of battle. Tor looked over his shoulder at his team, seeing that they were all still locked into battle. Dumpus was back, the poison having been cleared from his system.

"More are coming!" He called. "Be ready!"

Just as the first rounded the corner, an arrow whizzed through the air and sank through its thin neck. _Addison._ Three more arrows sliced through the air one after the other and each one hit their mark. By then the second wave had already hit and Tor had already taken down three enemies with a clean slice. Tor raised his shield against the acid that flew at him as he ran toward another of the monsters. His sword penetrated easily and the plant creature didn't even have time to react before it was dead. Tor kicked the body from his sword and swung the blade again in a fluid movement, killing another.

It didn't last long. A short span of only a few minutes passed before a single arrow shot through the head of the last enemy and it fell with a small thud. Tor looked around at his team, checking them for injuries. Turk was back with Daphne, getting a remedy for the poison he'd been hit with. Everyone else was there, already showing signs of slight fatigue. Tor still felt the energy coursing through his veins.

"Let's get back to the trees, find Turk and keep moving." He said. "There's going to be more, so be prepared."

He led the way back to the cover of the trees and found Turk and Daphne. There was a burn mark from the acid on his left cheek, but he was otherwise unharmed. Tor felt a small sense of relief that there had been so few injuries so far. There wasn't much more land to cover before they reached the Sycamore tree.

…

Tor dropped down from the branches of the sycamore, having spotted Ignatius's group slinking through the trees. They'd already been waiting for several minutes, several agonizingly slow minutes. "They're nearly here," he whispered to Turk who had been searching the trees since they'd arrived at the meeting place. Probably worrying about Aryanna and his father. Tor hadn't worried about his own father once. Hubert was capable of taking care of himself.

"You saw them?" Turk questioned.

"I can hear them now."

Turk sighed with relief. "So that means that there was no run-ins with the Assassin."

Tor shook his head. "It's not over yet, but I doubt we'll be seeing him here. What he's doing here is most likely just a distraction from the real threat."

"Then why put yourself here in the plans?" Turk asked. "You ought to be searching for the assassin! If you think he's with the pack, that's where you should be. Not here fighting little pests."

"Now isn't the time to talk!" Tor growled. A split second later there was the slight rustle of leaves and Ignatius appeared. He raised his sword for a second until he recognized Tor. "See anything?"

Ignatius nodded. "We ran into a few groups of them. None escaped."

"Injuries?" Tor questioned, glancing over at the group.

"A few burns here and there. Nothing serious." Ignatius reported. Tor nodded. "What next?"

Tor pointed out through the trees. "There are sorts of dens that need to be cleaned out. Five of them. They're mostly hidden by vines so we'll stick together this time. I know where they are. Like before, this needs to be done quietly." He was about to lead the way forward but Turk cut him off, drawing his sword to bar Tor's way. Tor stared at his old friend incredulously. "Lower your sword Turk. What do you think you're doing exactly?" He glanced over at Ignatius who hand a hand on his sword hilt, ready to stop Turk from doing anything.

"You shouldn't be here Tor. You should be out trying to find the assassin to end all of this. We don't need you to help fight off a couple of plants."

"Lower your sword," Tor repeated in a low growl. Turk just held steady. Tor closed his eyes and faded into Smoke Step. The world around him was completely still. Tor stepped under Turk's sword and around him, raising a hand just inches away from the back of Turk's neck. And then he ended the spell, reappearing in a cloud of smoke. He quickly put his hand on the back of Turk's neck while his friend was still confused by what happened. Turk immediately went rigid. "I told you that I was done talking about this, Turk." He lowered his arm and stepped away, letting Turk turn to face him with a defiant expression.

"Tor he's right," Hubert spoke up. Tor looked over at his father, annoyed. "You should be where you're needed. That isn't here. We can handle this fine. You ought to be out trying to find the Assassin and being somewhere where you will actually be useful."

Tor knew that they were right, but he was still reluctant to leave. And it was all for selfish reasons. Even Roberta had argued with him about his decision, but she eventually gave in without Tor ever even giving her a reason. Now he shook his head at himself and his stubbornness. "I know that." His shoulders slumped slightly before he stood straight again, his voice commanding. "Ignatius, work with my father. You're both in charge."

"Where are you going?" Aryanna asked.

"First to Cogham. Then to the coast." He pulled a scroll from his belt and handed it to Hubert. "This is a map of the woods. It's got every little corner, tunnel, anything you would need to know. You shouldn't run into too much trouble. When you've finished unis will be waiting for you outside of the woods near the river. They'll take you to the base."

"Tor, we know all of this," Hubert reminded him. "Go on. We'll see you in a while."

He nodded once. Before he could even try to get out of leaving, he disappeared into a cloud of purple, concentrating hard on Cogham village, just near the mayor's residence at the top of the waterfall that overlooked the village. The typical setting for a leader, somewhere in which he could look over his people, watch over them.

Jurgin himself was just outside the door, completely still, his eyes trained on the entrance into the steps. He had no way of knowing that or was right there, because really, he wasn't. Not in the normal sense anyway. Having a moment to spare, Tor stepped closer and studied the older man's aged face, lined with worry for the neopets of his village who were fighting.

Satisfied that those left in the village were safe for the time being, Tor instantly moved father into the steppes, where signs of battle began to grow frequent. There was the occasional body, comrade or foe. Tor faded out of Smoke step upon seeing the fallen body of a tribe member, his spear laying a few inches away, russet fur stained with blood. Slowly he kneeled down and closed the ixi's eyes gently with his fingers.

And then he continued on, choosing to go by foot from then on. He could hear the sounds of battle already; the clash of metal, angry, pained cries, sounds that Tor knew well and they weren't far off. If he were to look hard enough he could even see the archers lined up strategically on the cliffs, right when he placed them in the plans. In a second he had transported himself up next to Laertes who was pulling back the string of his bow. The guard jumped in shock, but quickly recognized Tor and lowered the bow.

"What are you doing here? I was told—"

"Change of plans," Tor said quickly, cutting him off. He turned his eyes to the bloody scene below them. Bodies dropped every second, only to be dragged away by the healers and then sent back a few minutes later. It wasn't something that could be kept up for very long. "It seems that you could use some help here."

"It's rough," Laertes admitted. He aimed his bow steadily and let an arrow fly. Tor watched it sink right through the arm of an ixi archer on a separate cliff. "We've got our work cut out for us, keeping the archers at bay. There's many more than we expected."

"I'll see what I can do. The Assassin?"

"No sign of him."

Tor nodded curtly, suppressing a small growl of annoyance. "Very well. I'll take out a few of the archers and then help out below."

"Good luck Tor."

"And you."

The first thing that Tor did was move himself to a position behind one of the ixi archers who was aiming down below. Before the archer could release the arrow, Tor kicked out with his foot, startling the ixi and throwing off his aim. The arrow flew to the left and snapped in two against the rocks. Tor ducked under the bow that was swung at him, the sharpened stones that were tied to it just barely missing his ears. He blocked a second attack with his sword, angling the blade so that it went between the bowstring and the limb. He wrenched his sword back and pulled the bow from the ixi's grip with his sword. Then, in one fluid motion, he tossed the bow to the side and sliced his sword. His opponent dropped.

Tor averted his eyes from the mess and picked up the bow before reaching for the quiver of arrows. He put an arrow into place and drew back the string, taking careful aim on another archer. The ixi went down moments later. Tor carried on with the process, taking out as many archers as he could until he ran out of arrows. Then he strapped the bow to his back, deciding it was time to enter the close combat battle. His eyes scanned the battlefield and landed on a body that was strewn across the ground. Master Torak was barely recognizable under the blood that covered his body. Even though Tor knew that it was just an image, that his mentor was still very much alive somewhere, his head reeled for a few moments at the sight.

Wrenching his eyes from Master Torak, Tor saw that Grayson was being overcome by a group of ixies right below him. He leapt down from the cliff, a knife clenched into his fist as he dropped on top of an ixi. It fell from under his weight and Tor killed it quickly. He dodged a spear, twisting to the side just in time to side-step the point and grab the weapon. He jerked it back to throw his opponent of balance and finished him off in a heartbeat, pausing to give his remorse. Grayson sent the other two ixies bounding off in a different direction moments later, looking at Tor in shock.

"Thanks, for that. What are you doing here?"

"Searching for the Assassin," Tor answered, raising his shield in time to block an incoming arrow. "Laertes told me he hasn't been seen."

"Nope. Not that I'm aware of anyway."

Tor cursed. Suddenly his legs were swept out from under him and he hit the hard ground. He rolled onto his back to see a spear coming down at his chest. Luckily the magic in his armor was able to hold against the force and it merely rebounded away, sending vibrations up the shaft. Tor kicked out strongly at the ixi's front legs which buckled down immediately. Tor punched him, the connection creating a metallic sound as the ixi slumped, out cold.

Grayson was engaged in another battle but seemed to be holding his own well again, despite his wounds. Tor moved deeper into the fray where the fighting was thick. Dawson was fighting viciously, keeping up with the fight well even with his wounds and little training, his he was obviously weakened. Tor fought his way over to the squire. "Dawson, go and find a healer!" he ordered.

"I can still fight!" Dawson protested stubbornly.

"Follow the orders given to you! This fight will not last much longer! Go seek medical attention and then you can come back!" Dawson looked furious and ready to argue but Tor didn't give him any time. He just turned away and parried an attack with his sword, using the ixi's momentum against her and tripping her with the spear she carried. Glancing back he could see Dawson darting away from the midst of the battle to go and find some cover to be healed. Tor once again focused on his opponent who was picking herself up from the ground.

Tor got a good look at her, something he didn't normally like doing when faced with enemies. She was young, maybe even younger than he was and behind the brave front, Tor could see the terror in her eyes. He lowered his weapon slightly. "I will give you a single chance. Leave this fight. You have no chance of winning."

To his surprise she took a step closer. He raised his sword in his left hand and his knife in the other, ready for an attack. And then she bowed low to the ground, laying her spear at his feet. "Thank you."

Her muscles tensed as she prepared herself to run, but Tor stopped her, a sudden thought coming to his mind. "Wait. Do you know the whereabouts of the Assassin?"

Her eyes turned fearful again and she looked around quickly as though searching for the dark figure. "Check the mines. I have heard that he has set up a base there. It may only be a rumor however." And then she left, taking of in a run before Tor could ask another question.

The mines. The confusing network of tunnels that ran deep below Neopia's surface. Tor had hoped that he wouldn't have to venture down there again. He hoped for many things though, few of which ever happened, some of which did. He glanced around for a couple moments at the battle that raged around him. With the number of archers diminished, the fight would go more smoothly for the allied side. They didn't need him. With a great amount of concentration, he began smoke step, finding himself in that separate dimension that he controlled by his own will. With a bit more concentration, the scene of the battle was replaced with the darkness of the abandoned mines.

The magical process ended abruptly, sending Tor down to his knees panting from the exhaustion. He had used the technique too many times for his body to handle in such a small amount of time, far more than he had used it previously and over longer distances. He was pushing his magical core too hard. Any harder and he was completely drain it and render himself helpless. He waited for the discomfort to fade away, just sitting there for several minutes to recover.

"I can't do that again," he told himself as he got onto his feet again. "Not for a while anyway." He looked down the passageway in thought. How was he supposed to find the Assassin by himself? There was so much area to cover in little time. It would be far too difficult to sniff him out. While Tor had an incredibly strong sense of smell, that meant nothing when one was underground. With Roberta with him she could sense the Assassin's magical signature, but Roberta wasn't there with him, one of the faults in their plan.

With a sigh, Tor began his journey through the mines.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie.

A/N: I had this all typed out, complete, finished. Aand then I'm not sure what happened. I thought I saved it, but when I went to open it, the chapter wasn't there. So then I had to write it again.

Chapter 22

Nothing. Tor didn't find the Assassin. He didn't even find any Ixi's. There wasn't even a sign that anyone had been there. Not in any corner of the old mines. His magic practically emptied, his strength nearly drained, Tor stumbled back to the entrance. And once he got there, he didn't have a clue as to what to do. The sun had passed its highest point. There was no way that Tor could even get back to Cogham in his exhausted state, let alone to the lake camp.

Tiredly, Tor slumped against a boulder. Roberta wasn't going to be happy. By now she was probably already on her way back to the camp. He was going to get an earful about this one.

His eyes began to drift shut. He just needed a bit of rest and then he could be on his way.

…..

Tor snapped awake. He could feel eyes on him, somewhere. He struggled to stand, using the boulder as a support, and he drew out his sword. Tor scanned the area, but saw nothing. And then he heard it, the small buzz of an arrow. There was no time to move. He felt a sharp pain in his leg as the head sank through. Tor didn't focus on that, diving behind the boulder to hide from his attacker.

The arrow had gone straight through the armor, the bloody point sticking out the back of his leg. Tor felt sick from looking at it. There was no way for him to remove the arrow at this point. He would have to leave it there. Summing up what strength he had, Tor got back onto his feet keeping his head bent to stay within cover as he drew his bow. He readied the bow, pulling back on the bowstring in advance. He now knew the general area of the attacker from the way the arrow had gone through his leg.

Tor took a deep, steadying breath. He spun around the side of the boulder and aimed his bow, having pinpointed the ixi archer immediately, perched up on the cliff. His arrow hit the target dead center in the chest, leaving Tor will a feeling of satisfaction that only lasted until he found himself needing to sit down. Now he was going to get even more of an earful from Roberta. Sleeping out in the open. One of his biggest blunders, and a foolish one at that.

His head thudded back against the boulder and he looked up at the sky, just letting waves of pain overcome him. He kept his eyes up, refusing to look at the arrow.

It started out as a small dot against the rocky horizon. Tor followed it as it came closer and closer. Soon he was able to make out a mass of black hair flying against the wind, merging with the golden mane of what was obviously a uni. A smile etched its way across Tor's face, thanking whatever god had let this happen.

"Roberta!" he shouted as loudly as his voice would let him, straining it even. The sorceress turned her head in his direction before pointing Solarin—or at least Tor assumed it was Solarin—in his direction. Tor didn't think there had ever been a time in which he'd been so relieved in his life as he was when the hoof beats thudded over the ground toward him. Roberta jumped off Solarin's back and kneeled next to him.

"I want to hit you so hard right now, Tor."

Tor grinned. "Incredibly, I'm very relieved to hear that."

Roberta rolled her eyes and moved to inspect his leg. "What did you do other than get shot and exhaust your magic?"

"I went into the mines to find the assassin. Which I didn't. Not a single thing. That about when I exhausted myself. Barely got out of the mines to being with. It's all coming apart down there. I got out and… well I fell asleep." Tor didn't even see Roberta move. First she was carefully holding his leg to look at the wound, and then she was punching him in the arm with all of her mite, dropping his leg in the process. Tor gave a cry of pain, torn between wanting to clutch his bruising arm and cradling his leg.

"I'm not even sorry about that to be honest," Roberta grumbled. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, winced and sighed. "Alright, I am actually. But you _idiot. _Going into the mines, fine. Going alone, not so fine but I can get over that. But pushing yourself this far? You know your limits, so don't stretch it to the point that it all breaks. This is what happens. Or even worse things."

"Yeah, got it. Now can you please do something about that arrow? Heal it or something?"

"I can't do anything about it now. I don't know if it hit anything serious or not. I'd have to get the arrow out and remove the armor. This needs at least two pairs of hands, and you'll be too… preoccupied to help."

"Then what's your plan? Just take me back with Solarin?"

"No." She shifted closer and put her arm around his back. "Solarin, go back to the camp. I'll be there." The uni whinnied and took off into the air with a soft _whoosh. _"Alright, Tor. Just relax."

"I didn't know that this was even possible."

"Well… I haven't tried it yet."

"What?"

There was a blinding white flash and Tor closed his eyes tightly in pain. He felt the rocky ground disappear and be replaced with grass. The hot, dry air of the steppes was gone in a cool, fresh breeze. Tor rubbed his eyes. "Well that was different." He mumbled and opened his eyes. They were in the camp, the very middle of it actually. Other soldiers were staring at him in shock.

"Medic!" Roberta shouted, before facing Tor. Her eyes were dull and tired all of a sudden and Tor guessed that what she had just done took a lot of energy from her. "How was it different?" she questioned.

"You mean it wasn't for you?" Roberta shook her head and stepped back so that the medical neopets could lift him onto a stretcher. She walked beside his head, looking down at him to show that she was listening to him. "It was just a blinding flash. I didn't see anything else."

"Hm, interesting."

The healers transferred him to a bed, careful not to let his leg move too much. One of the healers looked at him, her eyes holding a hint of sympathy. "This is going to hurt."

"I figured." Roberta positioned herself on the edge of the bed, leaning over him in a way that let her long hair block his view of what was happening. She gripped his hand and said, "Relax."

And then the searing pain began. Tor couldn't see what they were doing, but it felt like hot lava burning away at his flesh. He grit to teeth and squeezed Roberta's hand so tight that she sucked in a breath of pain. It lasted for a full minute before it began to ebb away.

"Arrows out," a healer said, tossing the two broken halves into a bowl. Tor grimaced at them until Roberta turned his face away. "Nothing major. You'll me fine by tomorrow, Sir Tormund. We applied a potion that should close and heal the wound, but it will take a few hours to take full effect. For now, rest and restore your energy. Here," the healer, an old aisha, handed him a glass filled with a sweet smelling potion. "That will help you to sleep as well as restore your body.

"Thank-you," Tor said, draining the glass. Roberta took it from his hand and set it on the table. He was already feeling drowsy.

"Lady Roberta, if you will follow me," the aisha said. "You're exhausted too and we must apply a salve to your wounds."

"Wounds," Tor questioned Roberta. "You didn't tell—"

"I tell you when you wake. They are nothing serious. Sleep. I'll tell your father that you're alright."

Tor frowned. "Fine."

Roberta smirked. "Don't pout."

…..

Tor slept for a few hours, through the rest of the day and well into the night. When he did wake it was shortly after midnight, the moon causing the camp to glow. Tor looked around the medical tent. It was completely empty apart from him. He sat up slowly, feeling stiff. A crutch had been leaned against the bed so he grabbed it and shuffled out of the tent. Several campfires were going, neopets sitting around them. Tor began to look for his father, to make sure that he was alright.

"Tor," Roberta greeted him, suddenly appearing at his side. "Come with me. I know where your dad is."

Tor smiled, relieved that he didn't detect dismalness to her voice. She kept her pace slow to match his. Tor glanced at her quickly, catching the way she was walking with the smallest of limps and the way her cheek slightly moved as though she was biting the inside of it. "What happened today? The healer said something about you being wounded."

"Hm." Roberta pursed her lips. "Towards the end, when I was getting out of the caves with the others. We found the assassin, but I barely even got a glimpse of him, he disappeared so quickly. I haven't a clue where he went to. When we were leaving there was a surprise attack. They came from one of the side tunnels, five of them. I'm not quite sure what happened, but one of the got me. No bites, but I caught some blows with their claws. I'm fine though. They might take a while to heal completely, but they're much better already from the salves."

"Was anybody—"

"I'm not sure how many died. A lot." She didn't look at him as she asked, "Grayson informed me of Torakor, or Master Torak. I'm sorry. You know that he's not gone, not really."

"Yeah. He was still my mentor though."

"I get it," Roberta murmured. She didn't say anymore as they had arrived at one of the campfires. Tor immediately picked out his father from all of the others around the fire, mostly those from the farm. They both took an empty seat, drawing everyone's eyes to them.

"Tor! Are you well?" His father questioned, staring wide-eyed at his son. "I checked in before but you were asleep. The healer said that you would sleep through until morning."

Tor shrugged. "Sleeping potions don't affect me much."

Hubert tilted his head slightly. "How do you feel though?"

"Exhausted, though I know that I won't be able to sleep another wink. I just hurt in general, I can deal with that however. Can't walk without a crutch. But I'll be better by morning."

Tor heard his father sigh. "I'm relieved to hear that. Very relieved. I couldn't imagine just the thought of sleeping a few moments ago, yet now the thought seems very appealing."

Tor laughed. "Go to sleep. I'll be here in the morning."

The older lupe stood up wearily. "I'll be counting on that. Glad to see that you are well."

"You too dad."

When his father was gone Tor blew out a long breath and looked at Turk sitting across from him. "He looks older."

Turk nodded grimly and poked the fire with a stick. "My dad is the same. I don't think that it was the actual fight as much as the worries they held over us."

"I'm shocked, Turk, that you understand emotions," Aryanna said from the left side of Roberta. Tor smirked and sensed an oncoming argument between the two. Everyone else seemed to sense it too and so while they were all caught up in that, Tor discreetly turned to Roberta.

"So, what's our next move?"

He was surprised to see the small smile that crossed her face as she handed him what seemed to be a negg slice. "I've been awake for the last hour wondering the same thing. I think that you might like what I came up with."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Thieves seem to be aware of everything, don't they? They've got eyes and ears everywhere. And most consider them as dark. If the Assassin is trying to build up supporters, maybe he's spoken to them."

Tor grinned. "And if he hasn't, they'll probably know something anyway."

Roberta nodded. "So what do you think?"

Tor took a bite of the negg, the fruit crunching between his teeth. "I think we ought to visit some old friends."

….

Wrapped tightly in their cloaks, remaining completely inconspicuous in the shadows of night, Tor and Roberta snuck through the alleys of Meridell, having arrived outside of the gates on their unis. Reluctant to be questioned, as it would be hard to explain that they were on their way to meet with a couple of highly wanted neopets, they waited until the guards had turned their backs. Then they slipped into the city.

It wasn't easy for Tor to sneak quickly while using his crutch. He hid it under his cloak, keeping his left arm out of the sleeve to be able to use the crutch the way he was. The sleeve only dangled by his side as though his left arm was completely useless, or gone completely. Tor refused to let his wounded leg impede him were things to go awry. His right hand held a dagger hidden in the sleeve and if the situation called for it, he could be as quick as a flash.

It wasn't that Tor feared the thieves. They all had a sort of understanding after the Darkest Faerie's downfall. Tor did not bother them, letting them carry out their daily lives of stealing while the other knights and guards sought to control them. As long as the thieves covered their tracks, an act in which they were all well trained in despite an occasional slip-up, then they would be fine, even with one of the strongest, most well-known and respected knights of Meridell knowing of their location. Tor liked the arrangement, as did the thieves.

Music could be heard inside the building, not loud enough to attract attention, but cheerful enough that Tor could tell that once inside he would be surrounded by drunken neopets. Roberta rapped three times on the wooden door with her knuckles and added another two with her boot, two very distinct sounds. A small, rectangular panel, eye level on the door slid to the side and Tor looked into a pair of bright green eyes from under his hood.

"State your business," said a gruff voice.

Tor and Roberta both pulled back their hoods for a couple seconds before putting them back in place and Tor caught a flash recognition in the green eyes. "We've come to speak with Dolosuno," Tor said lowly. Dolosuno, the leader of the Meridell Thieves Guild, also known as the Sly One. Tor had never seen his face, always covered by a hood. He didn't even know what type of neopet the man was. Nobody did except for those within the guild, hence the name, the Sly One. Some weren't entirely sure if he even existed or was just a made up story.

"No can do, buddy."

Tor sighed and glanced at Roberta. She looked just as aggravated. "Alright, listen _buddy, _I know that you are aware of who we are. I saw it in your eyes. Let us in. We'll make it worth your while." Behind him, Tor knew that Roberta was holding up a bag of neopoints. He saw the greed in the green eyes, the desire for some small amount of wealth. He smirked underneath his hood. The less mindful thieves, newbies, were always easy to convince. The bag did not hold more than a hundred neopoints, an amount the Tor once found to be incredible, just like this guard.

Slowly, hesitantly, the door opened just a crack. A dark blue hand slipped out and Roberta tossed the bag into the palm which quickly disappeared. Tor heard the neopoint shaking around, their metallic clinks very distinct to his ears. Then the door opened all of the way revealing a skeith, other than Tor though not by much. A long, thin rapier, dented and chipped hung at his belt. His clothes were ragged and a red bandana was tied around his head. He ushered the two in and locked the door.

Just as Tor had expected, neopets milled around the room, laughing, dancing, drinking. It was the way of the guild. When they weren't thieving, they were partying, even during times of war when others were out fighting. Many didn't even know that half of these neopets existed, living within the building, only leaving to steal. Tor accepted it, even though it made him angry to think that while his friends were all out fighting, many dead just today, here was a safe haven for those who just didn't give a damn for anyone besides themselves.

"Where is Dolosuno?" Roberta questioned the doorman.

"Downstairs. One moment. HEY BRACCUS!" the skeith shouted loudly, causing Roberta to jump and Tor to chuckle at her expense. Across the room a red lupe, probably around Tor's father's age, looked up. The skeith waved him over. Braccus didn't seem happy at all, but left his… companion, a pretty aisha much younger than Braccus.

"What is it?"

"Take these two down to the boss."

Braccus looked at Tor and Roberta suspiciously, unable to see their faces under the hoods. "You fool, Al. What do yeh think yer doin'? The boss is gonna kill yeh!"

Tor cleared his throat, catching Braccus's attention and tilted his head so that the light would show his face. "I don't think there's going to be any problems."

Braccus chuckled uncomfortably. "Ah, well of course not, Sir Tor—" Tor glared at the other lupe, cutting him off from completing his name. Not that it would help as most knew him by the name of Tor. "Er… yes. Well, follow me then, both of you."

The small group of three made their way through the crowded room, picking their way by the merry thieves. An aisha draped her arms around Tor's shoulders, pleading for a dance. He gently pushed her away and shrugged at Roberta who seemed annoyed by the event. Tor was thankful to get down the basement steps where there were only muffled sounds from above.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs Tor could see a lone figure sitting at a table, a mug in one hand and a book in the other. Dolosuno, he knew. Once again the Sly One was covered by his cloak, keeping his face in the shadows, his hands covered by leather gloves despite the fact that he was inside.

"Braccus, go back upstairs," Dolosuno spoke lightly, without even looking up from the book. Braccus bowed in acknowledgment and respect before quickly going back upstairs, probably to go and find his companion. Dolosuno gestured to some empty chairs across the table. Tor frowned at his chair while Roberta took the offered seat. "Wondering how you can sit without me knowing of your injury, Tor?" Dolosuno chuckled. "Too late."

Tor laughed quietly in return. "I should have expected no less." Tor withdrew his crutch from the cloak and set it against the table after lowering himself into the chair. He could feel Dolosuno's eyes on him. "I don't believe that you have met Roberta."

"No, I can't say that I have," Dolosuno remarked, looking interestedly at the acara whose face was also obscured by her hood. "It may help if I could see your face, Milady."

"It's Roberta. And it would help if I could see yours, though I have a feeling that that's not going to happen. Your name however, very creative. Dolosuno being a variation of 'Sly One' in ancient tongue."

Tor got the impression that the thief was smiling, though he could know for sure. "Your intelligence is known across the lands for being great. But I don't suppose that the two of you are here, in the dead of night during a war, to discuss my name." Dolosuno closed his book and set it gently on the table. Tor found the tome oddly intriguing. Obviously very old, the leather was worn and faded. There was no title visible, just the dark brown leather.

"You're right," Tor said, pulling his eyes from the book. "I'm going to get straight to the point. Have you been in contact with the Assassin?"

"I have."

"How long ago?" Roberta questioned.

"Weeks. Maybe four? He appeared within a purple cloud, just a few feet from where we are now. I was reading my book, quite surprised by his sudden experience. Of course, I knew who he was right away."

Tor was shocked by the level of cooperation he was getting from the normally elusive thief, never one for a straight answer. "And what was it that he wanted."

"My backing to his cause."

"And what is his cause, exactly?" Roberta asked. "Is it just to control all of Neopia?"

"Those are my thoughts. You see, he told me some shit story of freedom for all of my thieves. He offered money, an incredible amount of wealth. But it was all lies. He took me for a fool. I would have no money should I have given my assistance. I would be a slave to him, as would all of those neopets upstairs." Dolosuno leaned forward slightly, folding his hands on the table. "Within this guild we are a family. Nobody will mess with my family. If they do, well then there is going to be some trouble. You feel the same way, right Tormund? He took your sister after all, had her turned into a werelupe."

Tor grit his teeth. Yes, he understood completely how this man felt. "I agree."

Dolosuno nodded slightly. "I turned down his offers, as you can see. I will not be enslaved, nor will my family. You see what he has done to the werelupes, how easily they trusted him because of strength. I am not so naïve. I cannot say the same for other guilds however."

"What do you mean?" Roberta said.

"I have many friends… and enemies all across Neopia. The Assassin has spread his influence very widely these past few months, since before even your encounter with his at the celebration in Brightvale. Uprisings in the various regions in the Lost Desert. The Haunted Woods have become even more dangerous to the average traveler. Ever the icy monsters of the north are under his influence." Dolosuno explained in a grave voice.

Tor gaped, just simply stared at the master thief with wide eyes, unable to come up with words. "You're kidding."

"Sadly, I am not."

Roberta was clenching her fists. "That means he could be anywhere on the planet at this point!" She let lose a long string of curses that would cause a sailor to plug his ears. Despite the situation, Tor and Dolosuno both let loose the slightest of laughs.

"Rather colorful language," Dolosuno remarked.

"I think it fits in very nicely with the scheme of things here," Roberta said with bitterness. She looked at Tor from underneath the hood. "What are we to do?"

"You must find the Assassin!" Dolosuno interjected. "You two are the only ones who can do it at this point. Nobody else is willing or has the power and skill of you both combined. Not anywhere. Even your mentor Seradar cannot win this fight, not at his age. Though his magic is strong, old age has slowed him in a way that it hasn't the Assassin. He keeps himself strong will his use of Dark Magic, though I am sure that you know all of the basics, Roberta."

The acara nodded soberly. "Yes. Even though the Assassin is hundreds of years old, the dark magic preserves him. Though it has already taken his mind, his body will withstand it for many more years to come. At this point however, another hundred is the most."

"Indeed. Imagine the destruction and horror he will make out of Neopia by then. You two can stop him. Your skills are up to par with his while you are together. Other than the occasional fluke." Tor knew that he was speaking of the wounds he and Roberta had received. "You were both chosen by the heroes of Altador, a decision that would not have been made lightly. You are both practically assassins yourselves, though you are Assassins of the Light."

"What else can you tell us of this Assassin?" Tor asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the title he'd just been given. "How are we to find him?"

Dolosuno shrugged. "I cannot say that I have an answer to that. However I will have my thieves keep an ear out for information, and I will contact the other guilds who have not strayed into the Assassin's clutches. When information is found, it will be sent to you."

"Very well. Thank you Dolosuno, for your help." Tor said graciously. He nodded to Roberta and they both stood, Tor using the table as a support as he hid his crutch in his cloak.

"I have one more question, if I may," Dolosuno said suddenly. Tor looked at him, waiting. "Are those the Cloaks of Heroes?"

"They are," Roberta answered slowly, confusion evident.

"Interesting… Well I will contact you both when I have received information." Dolosuno picked up his book again and began to read.

Tor and Roberta left the Thieves Guild quickly, doing their best to avoid the drunken neopets upstairs.

"That was interesting," Roberta remarked when they were outside. Light was beginning to blend into the dark night. "I didn't expect him to be so… forthcoming with his answers."

"Neither was I," Tor said. "He never was in the past. But perhaps with the threat of the Assassin hanging over his guild, he's looking for advantages."

Roberta pulled back her hood and brushed her hair back into place. "Perhaps. Do you think that you could use smoke step yet? We need to hurry and get back to camp."

Tor frowned thoughtfully. He felt back to his usual self, except for his leg. Still slightly drained but not terribly. "I think I should be able to handle it. Slow Time?"

"As much as you can. See you at the camp."


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: This story's only got a couple chapters left, kind of a relief for me. I may do a sequel, or I may not. I feel as though it wouldn't really be complete if I didn't do it though, things left unfinished for our heroes. But we'll see how this turns out. ONWARD!

A/N 2: Also, before we get on with the story, sorry for the (really) long gap. Haven't felt up to it lately, not to mention that, this being one of the last chapters, I've been working hard to make it the best I can.

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie

Chapter 23

Tor awoke in his tent, the heat from the morning sun causing the air to be sweltering hot within the enclosed space. Normally Tor didn't like special treatment because of his rank, but he was very thankful that he had his own private tent, without the body heat of others.

He crawled out of the tent, dizzy with heat and dying for something to drink. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Tor walked toward the lake, making his way around the other neopets. Many were dozing around the fires, now only charred, smoking logs. Most were wounded, being covered in banadages. They watched him as he passed by, as though waiting for orders he didn't have.

He had spent much of his night trying to come up with some semblance of a plan. Everyone was waiting for orders. Nobody else had been told what Tor and Roberta had learned from the thieves and so no plans had been spoken of yet.

The knight splashed some of the cool water onto his face, kneeling at the edge of the lake, immediately feeling refreshed.

"WERELUPES!"

The cry was loud, carrying through the camp easily. Tor shot to his feet, reaching for his sword but finding that it wasn't there. Only the empty sheath.

"Tor!"

He turned just in time to see his sword leave Turk's hand. He caught the hilt, the point facing the ground and swung the blade around in his hand into the correct position. Tor took off, following the other soldiers and overtaking them effortlessly.

"STOP! He's no threat to us!"

That was Roberta's voice and it shocked Tor enough to nearly make him stop in his tracks. He ran wide to see around the others. Roberta was standing in front of two werelupes, creating a shield around the three of them while some of the troops swung their swords at the shield. The blades bounced off harmlessly, but Roberta flinched at every strike.

Tor sheathed his sword used Smoke Step to get closer before Roberta's shield failed. He slammed his fist into a green lupe's back, causing him to fall to his knees, stopping the attack as others saw him fall. Then Tor was able to get a good look at the werelupes.

"Alcasar," Tor exclaimed, shocked. The other werelupe he didn't recognize, but she seemed frightened by the attack. "What are you doing here? Who is she?"

"Tor, Roberta, who are these werelupes?" Master Caradoc demanded, his sword still ready.

"They are not a threat," Roberta said strongly, though she still kept the magical barrier in place. Tor nodded in agreement. "Alcasar is not with the pack. He helped Tor and I find the pack and he helped us to escape."

"And the other beast?"

Roberta looked over her shoulder at the female werelupe. Tor knew that she was thinking the same as him. They had no clue who she was or if she really was a threat, though it didn't seem as though she would try anything. She just looked scared. "Well… I don't know."

"Chain them!" Caradoc ordered. Tor tensed, gripping the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it.

"Caradoc, wait!" he interjected. "They aren't a threat, there's no need for this. Alcasar said that he would help us when the time came."

"_Alcasar _is a _werelupe, _in case you hadn't noticed, Sir Tormund."

Tor went to object, but a raspy voice cut in before he could. "Tor, Roberta, it is fine," Alcasar said, turning Tor's head immediately. "We understood that it was going to happen."

"They've no reason to imprison you, Alcasar," Roberta said angrily.

Alcasar shrugged. "Obviously reasons have no importance. Lower your shield."

Roberta grit her teeth, keeping completely still for a few moments. Then her body relaxed and Tor saw the shield dissipate into nothing.

"You two, come with me," Caradoc ordered, indicating to Tor and Roberta. They looked to one another, sharing the same angry expression as Alcasar was put into shackles. They followed Caradoc through the camp to his cabin.

It was like a grand palace compared to the tents that everyone else had. Inside it was nice and cool, probably equipped with charms to keep it that way.

The grarrl took them into what appeared to be a sort of office and sat behind a desk. Tor noticed some copies of the previous battle plans and maps scattered across the top.

"Where were you both last night?"

Tor glanced at Roberta. He hadn't thought anybody was aware of the fact that they hadn't been in the camp, sleeping off their weariness. He clamped his jaws shut stubbornly.

"Visiting friends," Roberta answered vaguely. "Not that it is any of your business, _Sir _Caradoc."

"Master Caradoc," the grarrl corrected in a harsh growl. "And it is my business when my soldiers disappear."

"Forgive me Master Caradoc," Tor said, "But we are not your soldiers. We do not answer to you. That was made clear when the Kings put us in charge of making plans that you follow."

Caradoc grimaced, showing his teeth in irritation. "Just tell me where you were last night!"

"Roberta did already. We were visiting some friends." Tor said, annoyed. "Gaining information."

"What friends?"

"Very connected ones," Roberta said, once again keeping it vague. "It does not matter who they are."

Caradoc grimaced, an angry gleam in his yellow eyes. But he did not question Roberta any further about who her friends were. "What did you find out then."

Tor was about to answer that, but Roberta beat him, saying, "That information is classified until after we speak to the werelupes you needlessly imprisoned."

"Very well, speak with those two savages! Maybe you will realize what they are!"

"Or maybe it will be you who sees the truth. Neopets like you and I, that is what they are! Not all werelupes are mindless beasts!" Tor shot back. "They do as they are ordered by their king. Do you not do the same?"

Caradoc slammed his fist on the desk, and used his other to point a finger in Tor's face. "Your mind must be clouded by that magic you're using! "And yours too, _Lady _Roberta!"

Roberta smacked his hand away. "Yours is filled with stereotypical bull feathers!"

"You two are only a couple of mere children pretending to know about things you have o knowledge of!"

"How often do you even leave the comfort of the castle?" Roberta questioned. "Even now this is practically a manor compared to what the rest of our accommodations. You call us pretenders?"

"GO!" Caradoc roared. "Speak with those bloodthirsty murderers you call 'friends'. We will find who is right!"

There were a couple moments of complete silence in which none of them moved, only spoke their anger with their eyes. Then Roberta turned on her heel and fled the room in a stiff manner. Tor followed, containing himself until they were outside.

"What happened to him?" Tor questioned, his ears burning with annoyance. "He was never like that in the past. I mean, Caradoc has never exactly been pleasant, but that was different."

"He was promoted," Roberta answered tightly. "He is becoming power hungry. And he calls Alcasar a beast!"

Tor suspected that this was not her first argument with Brightvale's Man at Arms, not from the amount of anger radiating off of her. "So, what else has he said?"

She didn't even bother trying to lie. "He tried to forbid me from coming to find you yesterday. Obviously I did not listen."

"Good thing you're not one for following orders," Tor remarked. He stopped next to Grayson who was crouched near a fire pit with some others. "Grayson, do you know where the werelupes are being held?"

"Yup. There's a tent out near the lake that they're in. I think that Ebard is guarding them with some others."

"Thanks."

Grayson jumped to his feet quickly and grabbed Tor's shoulder. "Wait, do you really know them?"

"Only one, Alcasar. But neither are threats, I assure you that."

The other lupe nodded, seeming to believe Tor's words. He seemed relieved. "If you say so Tor."

"At least not everyone is as idiotic as Caradoc," Roberta muttered as they walked away. Tor smirked, glad that the sorceress's anger was directed at the 'Commander' rather than himself. He doubted that she would take much more.

Ebard was guarding the tent with Ironscale of Market Town and Guardsman Wade. Ebard and Wade both looked bored, but Ironscale looked intent, as though guarding two prisoners was a great task.

"We're here to speak with the _prisoners," _Roberta stated with distaste. The three only nodded and moved out of the way, leaving Tor with a small flicker of satisfaction. Most seemed to be more willing to listen to him and Roberta rather than Caradoc. He ducked under the flap of the tent and Roberta waved her wand at the opening. It snapped closed and a golden wall appeared around it for a moment before it died away.

"They won't hear our conversation," Roberta explained for Tor's and the werelupes' benefit. She then pointed her wand at the locks that kept the werelupes from escaping their cages. A bright light streaked through the air and the iron lock was blown to bits. Alcasar jumped out of the cage with a grunt of disgust. The other crept slowly out, very hesitant as though she thought they were going to attack her.

"Alcasar, who is she?" Tor questioned. "And why are you here?"

"This is my sister, Shayla. She managed to escape the pack. We have come with information and to aid in the fight, as I promised I would."

"I'm sorry about Caradoc," Roberta said, looking considerately at Shayla. "There was no reason for him to take you both as prisoners. You are among friends now. What information have you brought?"

Shayla's ears flattened against her head. For the first time Tor noticed that her dark fur had spots that were caked with blood and cuts littered her body. She had obviously gone through much to escape the pack. Whatever had happened still struck her with fear.

"Shayla," he said calmly and warmly. "You do not have to fear anything anymore. Just tell us what you know."

Her amber eyes turned to him inquisitively. "It was your sister who was captured, was it not?"

Tor watched her curiously as he nodded slowly. "It was…"

"And it was you who killed many of the pack in your strive to rescue her. Including my family."

He glanced at Roberta, not liking where this was going at all. "I… yeah. I'm sorry but—"

"Do not apologize," Shayla rasped, cutting off his apologies. He'd had a string of them ready. "You have done a great service, both of you. There are very few within the pack who do not believe everything they are told by whichever mad king is ruling them. Most of those few are too afraid to do anything about it."

"I can see why," Roberta murmured, gazing over the wounds on the werelupe's body.

Shayla nodded. "I barely escaped with my life. It was only thanks to the small number of those who see clearly. They helped me to escape without raising suspicion to themselves.

"Your rescue mission, the way you so easily went against the King, has sparked a sort of revolt within the pack. No doubt that the battle has helped. More are seeing that they are merely pawns in the full scale of things. Some are refusing to fight. They don't last long however. But, the smart ones, like those who aided in my escape, they are working together, forming a group. They are preparing to rise against the King."

Tor felt uneasy at her words. The Assassin always seemed to be aware of everything. Tor had a feeling—though he wasn't positive and possibly only very paranoid—that the Assassin was listening in on them now. He looked at Roberta, wondering if she was pondering the same, but she didn't seem worried, at least not by that.

"There is a certain group," Shayla continued. "One that I am a part of. Tonight they are planning to lead a hunting party, or at least that's what the rest of the pack thinks. They will not be returning to the pack."

"And how is that going to resolve anything?" Roberta questioned.

"Werelupes have run away in the past. When they do, the Leader himself goes to punish them for their betrayal."

"They plan to kill the Assassin when he comes to kill them," Tor finished, the realization hitting him suddenly.

Shayla nodded her massive head. "However, their skills are nothing compared to the Assassin's. They will surely perish on their own. They hoped for me to find you, for help. You will have a chance at killing the Assassin."

There was a while of silence. Tor looked at Roberta who looked thoughtful, as though she already had several plans and backup plans forming in her head—which she most likely did. Apparently she had already decided that they were going to take this chance. So Tor nodded with a determined expression.

"We'll do it."

…..

It wasn't a very perfect plan—that much was obvious with such short notice. That night Tor and Roberta used Smoke Step to get to the location where the ex-pack members were camping, their werelupe friends travelling behind with some back-up on unis. There was no telling if any of them would make it in time.

The werelupes had been expecting them, so rather than attacking on sight there were some quick, surprisingly formal introductions and Roberta explained their plan.

Now Tor was sitting in a tree, wearing a dark cloak that would better hide him than his armor. From his perch he could see the campsite, the seven runaways gathered around a fire. Roberta was somewhere else out of sight on the ground.

And then they waited.

None of them knew when the Assassin would show up; it could be minutes, hours, days even. So there were many flaws in the hastily made plan. Tor couldn't spend days in a tree for one.

To his right there was a sudden cloud of purple that curled away, revealing Roberta. She balanced easily on the thick branch, as though she were standing on perfectly level ground.

"you look tired," she said, holding out a small vial. An energizing potion, Tor recognized. "It's not much, but it's all we have for now."

"It's fine," Tor said, sliding the vial into a leather pouch for later use. He really wasn't all that tired, but Roberta always worried. He had only made it worse with his little stunt into the mines. "Thanks."

Roberta nodded, looking tired herself. "I have to get back. Stay awake."

It wasn't ten minutes before Tor's eyes dropped and he fell asleep up in the tree.

…..

He was woken in a very disrupting way by Roberta. She appeared in the same space she had taken earlier on the branch, one hand clamped over his mouth, using her other to tug on his ear.

Needless to say, Tor glared at her with annoyance. But Her face was serious, even holding a small amount of fear and anticipation and his face immediately mirrored hers.

"He's coming."

Tor didn't understand how she could possibly know that—he scented nothing in the air but her, the werelupes and the forest—but he did not doubt it for a second. He stood on the branch, his sword out and ready. Roberta, wand in one hand and dagger in the other, was already wide awake and ready.

His eyes scanned the forest below, searching for a sign of the one who had been after his life for over two years.

_Whoosh!_

Tor was knocked from the tree branch and sent flying to the ground below, laughter echoing through the forest. He hit the ground on his feet and dived into a roll with his momentum to keep from getting hurt. When he turned and looked back up to the perched he had been sleeping on moments before, he saw the robed figure of the assassin, his rapier locked with Roberta's dagger.

"Did you two really think you could fool me?" he sneered. "Do you think me so naïve?"

Tor Shadow Stepped up onto the branch, right behind the Assassin, his sword sweeping in a wide arc. Blood welled around the deep gouge that was left. The Assassin roared with pain and pushed Roberta away with a strong pulse of magic, sending the sorceress flying from the tree.

A wide, maniacal grin was on the gelert's face when he turned around. "And who says old dogs can't learn new tricks?"

Tor readied his blade. "You're one to talk about old dogs. How old are you again?"

The Assassin grinned, his yellow eyes gleaming underneath the darkness of his hood. "ATTACK!" he shouted before disappearing into a purple cloud.

Instinctively, Tor did the same lest he be speared by the rapier his opponent wielded.

Werelupes had burst from the trees, snarling with battle-fueled rage. Too many for Tor to count, but they easily outnumbered the small resistance group.

_Back-up had better be here soon,_ Tor thought as he raised his blade and leapt forward—forgetting the Assassin for the time being. Hopefully Roberta could handle that for the time being.

His sword sliced through the thick skin of a werelupe and the beast howled in pain, whipping around with his claws out. Tor took a leap back, and then another when the claws came at him again. There was a second for an opening while there werelupe was recovering from his miss.

But Tor didn't need it. There was a sickening crunch and there werelupe slumped to the ground, his skull crushed from a strong strike of a bone club. Tor nodded at the resistance fighter and they both moved in opposite directions into the fray.

"Watch it Tor!"

He heard Roberta's warning call, even if he didn't see her anywhere, and quickly moved into the Shadow Plane—as he had dubbed it. He turned around and there was the assassin, frozen with the rest of time, his rapier ready to come down on Tor's head.

"Close call," he said to himself as he stepped to the side and back into the physical world.

The Assassin's sword came down into the ground and he snarled in annoyance and pain when Tor's sword slashed into his side. The wound was not deep, the Assassin moving too quickly for the blade to cause any serious damage.

Tor felt the strain on his magical energy that moving so quickly between worlds caused for him.

_Don't wear it out, Tor, _he told himself. _We don't need a repeat of the Steppes._

Roberta appeared on his right and Tor saw her grim face from the corner of his eye. The three stood still and tensed, ready to dodge at even the slightest movement. The battle still rage around them, thicker now that the reinforcements had arrived.

The Assassin grinned.

"Looks like it's high time we get serious."


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Wow… it's been a while, more than just a while, really. But I got this. I'm refreshed and determined to finish this story.

At this point I'm not sure how many chapters are left. Maybe one, maybe two, and a sequel is possible.

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie.

Chapter 24

"Two against one?" Tor asked with a small smirk as he chanced a quick glance at Roberta. She never really had been one for quick banter in the midst of battle and her face was set, grim and tense with her eyes calculating, just waiting for the fight to begin. Tor himself lowered a little, his body ready to move in any direction or to move as needed. "Doesn't seem very fair, does it?"

"Not for you."

And then the Assassin sprang, his sword meeting Tor's while he sent a blast of Magic at Roberta. The sorceress deflected it easily and sent one of her own.

But the Assassin disappeared into his dark purple smoke. Tor and Roberta moved, back to back as they stood, waiting rather than Shadow Stepping to another location. A silent agreement between the two of them.

"Don't overdo it again, Tor," she muttered to him and Tor smirked as he responded, "Wouldn't dream of it."

"Look up!"

Tor rolled forward at Roberta's warning, thankful to her skills of being able to sense the Assassin. He rolled forward onto his feet and spun, seeing Roberta with her dagger locked with the Assassin's rapier. She was forced to yield as a fiery ball erupted from his hand, dodging that and instead taking a hit from his blade. It had to be one or the other in the position she'd been forced into.

Tor jumped forward, slashing with his sword to distract the Assassin as she recovered from the blow. There was no time for him to check how badly she'd been wounded as the gelert parried his strike.

The two matched, blow for blow in strikes so fast their blades were only a flurry of silver in the dim light. It was during this that both fighter seemed to realize how far Tor had come since their last encounter and at the realization, they both fought ever harder. Their weapons made resounding metallic clangs through the air as they each tried to force the other back.

Tor managed to get the first strike, a deep cut into the shoulder. But it wasn't nearly enough damage to hinder the gelert.

"You've come far," the Assassin commented.

"Was that a compliment?"

Tor sensed Roberta coming and dived to the left, feeling the Assassin's blade rake through the air next to him. While the Assassin was still raising his weapon again from his missed strike, Roberta slammed the steel butt of her wand into his stomach and kicked out his legs from underneath him in a swift movement.

As the Assassin fell and Tor stabbed with his sword to take the final blow, he met only a cloud of smoke and the tip of his sword dug into the ground next to a crater in the earth from the spell Roberta had sent. Both felt the ground quake from the impact and Tor winced, imagining the pain that the spell would have created, but then a stronger emotion filled him. He wrenched his sword out of the ground, furious that the Assassin kept escaping his blows.

"Where is he?" He snarled, spinning around in a circle. When he received no answer from his companion, he stopped his movements and looked at her curiously. "Roberta?"

Her eyes were closed and her body completely still, like she'd fallen asleep right there in the midst of battle.

"Now is not the time for a nap!" he snapped. It might've been a joke, but his voice was so filled with anger it would've been hard for anybody to tell.

Slowly her amethyst eyes opened and Tor sensed something strange about them. But then she spoke and the thought went away with her words. "I don't sense him."

"_What?"_ Tor hissed. He whirled around, shouting, "Come out and fight, Assassin!" No answer. "ASSASSIN!"

When there was nothing—not a single dark chuckle, not the swish of a blade, not the swirl of smoke, only the sounds of the battle of werelupes that still raged on as a completely separate fight—Tor snarled in annoyance and went to leap into the fray and help the resistance.

If the Assassin wouldn't come out to fight, then he would do what he could to help the others in their battle.

But then a hand on his arm stopped him. He frowned. "What now Rob—"

A small gasp escaped him as he turned to face the sorceress. The sharp pain in his abdomen—and a sickeningly familiar pain at that—made him look down, fearing what he would see.

A dagger, _Roberta's dagger, _with her small hand still clasped around the hilt.

His eyes snapped up to hers, his mouth hanging slightly open as her twisted into a terrifying smile. "_What?"_

She wrenched the dagger out and Tor doubled over in pain, clasping his hands over the wound that bled through his fingers. His sword clattered to the bloody ground beside him. He looked up at Roberta, his golden eyes filled with pain, anger, confusion and betrayal.

Tor coughed and he kneeled forward, lifting one hand from his wound to place on the ground, his blood mixing with that of many others. He felt the strength leaving his body already and soon he was gasping for air. He raised his head again, the strain of it excruciating. But any words that had come to his mind—all of them harsh and biting accusations and curses, ready for him to shout—left him when he saw her face.

It was filled with horror as she stared between him and the knife in her hands. With a loud cry filled with despair she dropped to her knees, grasping Tor's shoulders to steady the both of them. Tears were leaking from her eyes.

Roberta _never _cried. Never once in all the years he'd known her. Granted that was only about three, but that was long enough for him to know her through and through.

"Tor, it wasn't me, I swear!" she sobbed. But Tor could only groan in response as his head began to ache.

It was a feeling that he had felt so many times before during their travels, but never to this degree. And he realized then in that moment through his foggy and confused mind, that the dagger was poisoned. There was no way that this amount of pain had come from a single stab. He fell over onto his side and rolled onto his back, gasping.

"TOR!" Roberta screeched. She leaned over him, her dark hair falling in a curtain around them just as it had when the arrow had been torn out of his leg. But now the situation was far different. Then Tor knew that there would only be pain. Now there was darkness swimming in the corners of his vision, creating a tunnel that showed only Roberta's distressed face. Her head dropped to his chest as she screamed at him, pleading. "I'm sorry! Please, don't… don't!"

Tor heard the laughter even if he couldn't turn his head in the direction it was coming from. He closed his eyes.

…

"You!" Roberta hissed at the Assassin. "You possessed me!"

The hooded gelert chuckled. "Not possessed, no. I just… twisted your will a little." He sighed dramatically. "The magic you can discover when you dabble in the darkness." His eyes meet hers and Roberta could see the madness in them, the darkness, the _knowledge. _"You have _dabbled _as well. Is it not intriguing?"

Roberta tried to ignore his words as she dug around in the pouches hooked to her belt, mostly because he was right, as though he was seeing right through her.

Darkness could draw you in with a power that light did not have. It could twist your mind, change your morals into nothing. Delving into the darkness could ruin you. Roberta had fought it off many times during her studies.

She could feel his glowing eyes on her, merely watching as she pulled out a small vial with shaking hands. Inside a bright green liquid swirled. She uncorked it with her teeth and poured the liquid down Tor's throat.

It wouldn't heal his wound, but it would stop the poison from spreading. At least she would no longer have to worry about that. Hopefully, Tor could just hold out for a while longer. Hopefully the battle that raged around them as though in a completely separate plane would end and somebody would come and heal him.

Roberta dropped the vial onto the ground and picked up her dagger and her wand. She stood, each weapon in hand as she stared down her opponent with eyes that had struck fear into the hearts of most men. She wiped the tears away and steeled herself.

"And now I deal with you."

She did not hesitate for a second, her wand arcing above her head, electric blue bolts hissing around the rod. Lightning shot out toward the Assassin, whose eyes widened briefly at the speed of it. But still, he only dodged the blast in a calm manner, taking a mere two steps to the left.

By then a second bolt was already coming, and then another. The next spell the sorceress changed it up and the Assassin was dodging knives, a flurry of about ten of them.

"You're quick," he said when Roberta had stopped. She was panting, but only slightly. "Faster than your mentor even."

"How do you know of Seradar?"

"Why, my dear girl, every neopet between the two Kingdoms knows of Brightvale's mighty Royal Sorcerer," the Assassin said in a taunting voice.

"Not what I meant," Roberta growled in a low voice that was heard even across the few yards that separated them.

"We are… Old friends, you could say," the Assassin answered. "However, he was always more of a man who tended to follow the rules. I was not."

"Clearly." Roberta raised her wand and dagger, falling into her battle stance. "That is enough of talk."

She dashed forward, her dagger ready to deflect any attacks with his sword, her wand ready to cast any spell.

Tor was out of commission. She would have to fight for the both of them now.

A scream tore from her throat, full of vengeance and ferocity as the spells flew from both sorceress and assassin. Roberta ducked under his blade and struck out with her dagger. It's tore through his dark robes, but no deeper.

"Nice try, kid."

Now that annoyed her—though it wasn't as terrible as everything that had happened in the past few minutes, although it could've been longer than that. But still, she had not been called 'kid' in a good five years! She was a seventeen year old woman!

Roberta narrowed her eyes. She really did hate it when her opponents spoke to her during a fight. It always did its job, distracted her. Tor loved it, something that had annoyed her endlessly over the years. She figured it had something to do with him being a knight of Meridell. It seemed that every one of them had been trained to do it.

The Assassin moved through his smoke and Roberta followed suit, teleporting back to the tree branch she and Tor had been perched on earlier. From there she watched the battle below, searching for the Assassin.

For the first time she noticed that the resistance fighters and the reinforcements were managing to get the upper hand. There were many familiar faces there, from all over the lands between Brightvale and Meridell, thrust into battle with the werelupes.

"Behind you!"

There was no time for Roberta to react, so distracted by the battle below and she received a swift kick to the small of her back. He could have so easily killed her instead, but she was grateful that she was only sent flying through the air instead.

She hit the ground with a dull thud that sent her head reeling.

Tor was right next to her, his eyes closed, but his chest rising and falling. It looked as though he—or somebody else—had bandaged his stab wound with what appeared to be his shirt. Unused scraps of it lay in a small heap.

She was shocked into complete stillness when his head turned toward her. "Keep fighting," he rasped. Get up and keep fighting!"

Roberta had no choice really, but hearing Tor's voice strengthened her, renewing some of her lost energy. She smiled warmly at the lupe, her friend. "What do you think I'm doing?"

She rose back to her feet and stepped into the Shadow Plane, time slowed down to a near stop. She weaved through the bodies—even though she could past right through them as though there was nothing there—searching for the Assassin.

She only heard it because there was no other sound to fill her ears, and Roberta barely dodged the blade, the edge cutting into her cloak as it flapped around her, into the skin on her side. Blood welled and she quickly clamped a hand over the wound. Not very deep, luckily.

Still, Roberta couldn't suppress a short gasp, not having known that physical attacks in the Shadow Plane were even possible.

The Assassin was grinning, his pointed teeth stained yellow, his eyes sharp but maniacal.

"It seems you haven't done enough research."

And then he disappeared.

Roberta grew nervous. Her power was growing limited, spending so much energy using smoke step in such a short amount of time, shooting off the most powerful spells she could at a near constant rate. She had to get out of the Shadow Plane, and hope that she could move fast enough when the Assassin appeared next.

Unable to find the dark wizard, and worried for Tor's safety, lying broken on the battlefield, she found her friend again. He had found somewhere somewhat safe, in between the gnarled roots of an old tree that hid him well. He was propped up against the trunk, his eyes closed, breathing shallow. His cloak was open, showing his haphazard bandaging work that was stained red.

"What are you doing here? Where's the Assassin?" Tor asked in a quiet voice. Roberta grasped his hand as she crouched down on her knees, finding comfort that he was still well enough to find the strength to squeeze her own, smaller hand.

"I don't know… I don't sense him." She said reluctantly, already aware of the response she was going to get from her friend.

Tor growled lightly, his golden eyes opening very suddenly. There was pain there, mixed with anger and hatred. But they were also clouded with exhaustion and the strain of trying to keep from going out. "We have to finish this, Roberta!"

"I _know, _Tor!" she shot back heatedly. "And we will! But this is too dangerous for you right now. We have to get you somewhere else."

"Forget it! There's no time. Just…give me some potions or something. I have to fight."

Roberta sighed. They had no potions. And Tor was actually right; there wasn't any time for this. There was a battle going on all around them, one they should have been taking part in.

But no, they were hiding, exhausted and wounded.

"But you _can't _fight. Not like you are."

Roberta squeezed her eyes shut. They were in way over their heads. This man, wizard, assassin, was fighting them with over a hundred more years of experience than they had, and fighting them with every ounce of it. Just keeping up was stretching their limits.

They were going to fail. She had made a promise, the same promise to so many, that she and Tor would finish this and end their fears of the Assassin.

"Roberta?"

She looked up at Tor, his concern for her open on his face. Then her amethyst eyes fell back to the bandages, a clear sign that her worries were true.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, wincing at the sound of a strangled howl, one that was gargled out painfully around a mouthful of blood. Which side had lost another? "I… I wasn't strong enough. I'm not strong enough. He got into my mind, and I couldn't fight him off. I almost killed you. And you're still not even in the clear."

Surprisingly enough, Tor chuckled, a near silent one that was raspy and dry. "I'm no stranger to stab wounds, Roberta. You've treated more of them than I'm proud of, so you should know." He leaned forward as much as he could before the pain stopped him. "Listen, you're right. I'm useless like this. The poison is gone…but the effects are still there."

Roberta winced again.

"Which means you've got to fight strong enough for the both of us, which I know you can. He's still around, I know it, probably watching us from the other plane."

When did Tor ever get so…what was the word? Not intelligent—though that's not to say he wasn't.

He seemed more adult, more thoughtful.

Or maybe Roberta just felt that much of a wreck that it seemed so.

_Yeah, that's it. I just need to pull it together._

She nodded, sucking in a breath to calm herself. But the confidence wasn't there. She needed Tor; there was no winning this battle without him. But there was no chance of him fighting in his state either.

The acara sorceress could feel the shift in the air and she became alert once more. He was there again, somewhere, moving out of the plane.

….

Tor watched as Roberta darted away. She'd found the Assassin again.

Hopefully she would have the strength left to end this battle.

Someone crept up on his right. Tor turned his head slowly, aware that there was no danger there, and stared into the golden eyes of Aryanna. A sigh escaped him, relieved.

"Come on, Tor. We've got to get you away. Turk is coming."

"I just need some potions, anything," Tor said as she put his arm around her. "I can't leave—"

"She'll be fine for the meantime," Aryanna assured him. "Some of the others will help her." When still Tor hesitated Aryanna ushered him forward again, more forcefully this time. "Tor, the best you can do for Roberta right now is to be healed! Now please!"

"Come on Tor," Turk came up on his other side and hefted the lupe up a little more, taking some of the pressure from Aryanna. The techno had a cut on his forehead and blood ran down the side of his face. The armor he wore had taken a few hits as well, but it had done its job of protecting him. "Just let your wound be healed, if only slightly, and you'll be back into the fight before long. Roberta will manage. Have faith in her!"

Tor had nothing but faith in Roberta. To make it as far as they did ne would need to trust their partner completely. But faith had nothing to do with this! Neither one of them could win this fight on their own. They had to work together!

So he let himself be led away, into the trees a ways where two more helmed soldiers took over for his friends and helped him to the makeshift medical station.

"Sir Tormund is in need of healing!" said the recognizable voice of Sir Cadmere. "Quickly!"

The lupe found himself placed into a cot, the bandage he'd made cut away. Blood had crusted in his fur around the gash, but the ragged edges of the wound were blackened and dead from the poison.

"What did this to you?" Asked the healer, a green aisha, aged and weary from seeing so many gruesome wounds.

"Poisoned dagger. I took a cure for the poison. Just heal the wound so I may fight!"

"Easy, Tor!" Cadmere warned. "You'll be taken care of. Just let the healers do their work."

"I have to get back!" Tor insisted. Even as he spoke there was a warm sensation, the magic weaving itself into his body, renewing his energy and closing his wounds. This method of healing was only to be used in dire situations, when potions were unavailable. It was not permanent, nor was it safe. Infections were not common, but they were not rare either. "Roberta needs me!"

"Just another minute, Sir Tormund," another healer said patiently. "Let your body recuperate. It was given a nasty shock."

"Is the wound closed?"

"It is."

"Then that is enough. I can rest when this is over."

Tor swung his legs over the side of his cot and Cadmere handed Tor his sword. "Good luck. End this."

"We will. Watch yourself, Cadmere. I hope to see you when this has ended."

Tor left then. Back to the battle, armor-less and without full strength, an ache in his entire body from the damage of the poison. He could still hear what sounded similar to explosions, which meant that spells were still being cast. A good sign. Roberta hadn't given up yet; not that he expected her to.

But a strange thing happened then. Everything got very quiet, even as Tor got closer. He pushed himself to move faster, anxiety growing by the moment.

He nearly collided with Turk, his friend standing completely still, even as Tor skirted closely around him. The lupe looked at his friend, the horror on his face and the way his shoulders had slumped. He followed the direction of the eyes.

The first thing he noticed was the amethyst color of Roberta's eyes meeting his. They were dull with defeat as she looked over at him rather than the Assassin who was no more than a foot away, his sword locked into her gut.

The Assassin chuckled darkly and strongly, and with a quick movement his rapier slid free and Roberta tumbled to the ground.

A scream tore from Tor's throat It was an angry sound that caught the attention of the Assassin. Gold met gold, and the gelert's mouth twisted into a terrifying grin as Tor charged forward. The assassin twisted as Tor reached out with his hand, fingers gripping the cloak as it billowed out. There was a flash of purple, then a blinding white.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I don't own Neopets the Darkest Faerie

Chapter 25

Tor's feet abruptly hit solid ground and he barely managed to stay on his feet.

He was shocked to find that the Assassin only tumbled ungracefully to the ground, hitting the stonework of the darkened chamber they had come to with a heavy thud. His rapier skidded away, far out of reach, but the gelert made no move to go after it.

Around them candles sparked to life, the magic sensing their presence.

But there was no time to more carefully observe his surroundings. Tor shook himself free of the strange feeling the travel had left him with and stepped over to the Assassin. He was rising up to his knees, gasping for breath in a painful sounding way.

Only then did Tor notice the hilt of a dagger jutting out from the gelert's hip. He didn't know how or when Roberta had managed that, but she had most likely saved Tor by doing it. The knight raised his sword, placing the tip beneath his enemy's chin, forcing him to look up with eyes that only showed defeat.

"So you got me," the Assassin said scathingly, coughing as he did. It was a gurgling cough, the sound of bleeding. "I suppose I have to say that you did well. Far better than I expected. Now, get it over with. I've lived too long."

Tor's lip curled. This was not the first time a foe had asked for their death, and it always disgusted him how one could be so welcoming towards their own end. Despite this being the man who had caused so much grief for so many, Tor was suddenly reluctant to take the life away just like that. There were too many questions surrounding this man. "Who are you?" he asked. "Who are you really, outside of what the books say? 'The Nameless Assassin' they write."

"That, boy, is unimportant." The Assassin growled.

"Tell me," Tor ordered. "If you are to die here, then let somebody know you."

"Speak to Seradar." Were the words that were spat out in disgust.

"Let me hear it from you."

There was an annoyed sigh, but the eyes were wistful as they circled the chamber. "My name was once Stonarch. I practiced magic beside Seradar for many years. We were close friends through childhood and into adulthood. We trained under the same mentor in Brightvale, but he was the favorite. My interests led me elsewhere, as he began the path to becoming the royal mage of the city. We didn't let it come between us for many years, long after I chose my life as an assassin."

"What happened?"

"I had many enemies. They began to go after those I loved. Like a fool, I thought that I had hidden her well, my fiancé. I left her in Seradar's care and continued about my work, creating more enemies, smarter enemies. They found her, murdered her before Seradar even had a chance to protect her, and left the body for him to find. I vowed revenge and I had it."

"But it wasn't enough."

The Assassin smirked. "No. I had already become what you see now. I wanted more bloodshed."

Tor applied more pressure to his blade. "It's time for that to end."

The lack of resistance was not shocking, though Tor supposed it should have been after everything that had led up to this point. There was no battle that he had been waiting for. When his blade was forced through his enemy's throat, he felt little. When the Assassin's body crumbled to ash within the dark robes, there was no feeling of satisfaction.

It was strange.

Following the defeat of the Dark One, Tor had felt lightened, joyous that the darkness had ended. Now there seemed to be no feeling at all.

The knight took a few moments to gaze around the chamber. It was empty save for himself, the ashes, and a single stone casket near the far wall. It had to be a casket, as Tor could not think of anything else it would be in this place that did not seem to have any visible exit.

He approached the coffin slowly, already having an idea of whom it belonged to. A single word was etched into the marble, a name.

Uvani

Below that was the design of a rose. Simply done, but Tor could see the effort in it. He glanced back to the ashes and a feeling of sadness swept through him.

Inside the tomb would lay the body of the Assassin's, Stonarch's, fiancé. The reason he had delved so far into the darkness. This was her final resting place, as it was his, and Tor realized that this was what his enemy had wanted. He had come to this place to die and Tor's being brought a long was just a lucky accident for him. Otherwise he'd have suffered for some time from Roberta's stab wound.

Tor felt the need to leave. He stepped back quickly, his feet getting caught in the robes as he trampled over ashes and he fell back. Looking to his feet he saw an envelope, the seal broken and the paper yellowed with age. Feeling wrong even as it happened, Tor pulled a small scrap f parchment from the envelope.

_My love,_

_The days only grow longer and longer as they pass and you are not here with me. I fear that soon they will be coming. Please return home soon. Please forget this contract and we can begin anew. I only wish for you to be next for me, to hold me in your arms again._

_Uvani_

…

Purple clouds faded around the knight as he stepped forth from the Shadow Plane and into the clear sunlight. The warm breeze that fell across him was a welcome change from the dark, cold, underground chamber. There were oppressive feelings there, unhappy and chilling. Everything about that place spoke of sadness and Tor was glad to be free of it.

But something about the situation still ate at him as he crossed the grounds near the lake, many eyes of soldiers following him.

"Tor!"

He looked into Turk's wide eyes. Shocked and relieved at the same time.

"He's dead." Tor said, answering the unspoken question. His voice was raised so that others would hear it and pass on the news. "Where is Roberta?"

Turk nodded in the direction of the medical tent that Tor had spent some time in with his wounded leg. "She was hurt pretty badly. Tor, you've been gone for days. Where were you?"

But Tor was already walking off to the tent. Days, Turk had said. He'd only been in that tomb for the better part of a half an hour. Either Stonarch—now that Tor knew the name and had heard and read what he did, and after everything that had taken place, the name felt right to use—had bent time to move faster as he travelled, or time moved slower within the tomb.

He ducked under the flap of the tent, not bothering to announce his presence. His eyes zeroed in on the sorceress, sitting on the edge of her cot, shoulders slumped wearily. She was wearing a pair of cotton trousers and a shirt that had been cut above her midriff which was covered by a bandage.

Roberta stood when she saw him, leaning with her hand placed on a small table with several empty vials atop it. "Tor," she murmured as he came forward, wrapping his arms around her with relief. "We had begun to think that you were dead."

"I thought the same of you." He said quietly. The knight held up a bloodied dagger. "You probably saved my life.

"Is he..?"

"Dead."

"Where did you go? It's been two days."

Tor didn't answer straight away. he looked over her several times, still thankful to see her again, alive and, while not quite healed, but well enough. She stared back, waiting patiently for his answer.

"I… couldn't quite tell you. Somewhere underground, a tomb. He told me there who he was, why he had become what he did. It was her tomb, you remember the story? It was her, Uvani's resting place. In time, that last shot you got in, when you stabbed him, it would have killed him. He asked me to do it, though. He wanted me to kill him there."

Roberta looked at him with concern. His sentences seemed jumbled and hurried, so much information to tell and he was trying to get it all out as quickly as he could. "Are you alright, Tor?"

"His name was Stonarch."

"What?"

"The Assassin. That was his real name. He was—"

Roberta gripped his arm, the small gesture quieting him instantly. "Tor, relax. Okay? You can tell me everything else later. What's important now is that he is no longer an issue. You need to rest."

Tor had no argument as he was led to the cot she had been occupying. The small bed suddenly looked so appealing. His last rest seemed so long ago.

….

One month came and went.

Neopets returned to their respective homes with the threat having passed. Sir Luthor had become Meridell's Man-at-Arms with Master Torak gone and was getting used to his new title of 'Master'. Remaining werelupes fled back to their original woods under the more peaceful reign of Alcasar. The Ixies moved farther back into the steppes where they remained unseen, but undoubtedly plotting their next raid, as was the cycle that the villagers of Cogham had ceased to try and stop.

Roberta returned to Brightvale again, healing slowly but surely from her wound while refusing any aide with the preference of letting it happen naturally—much to the servants' ire.

And Tor went home to the farmlands for a few weeks of respite, to be in the presence of old friends and family and to lose himself in the honest work of a farmer for a while before returning to Meridell once again.

The knight ambled his way into the barn, a bucket of water in his hand for the uni he had borrowed from Meridell's stables. Sandy was her name, and she snorted in delight at Tor's appearance, but he smiled ruefully at her.

"I know girl, you want to get out. Just a few days longer."

The uni huffed and steeped her neck away from him. Tor couldn't help but chuckle at the display of annoyance as he stroked her mane.

"Tor," Hubert greeted, walking into the barn. "A courier is here." The lupe made a face. "The boy refuses to hand over the letter to any but yourself. I expect he would wait here for days before giving it up."

The courier was a young techno, blue in color. "Tormund Ellis?" he questioned as the knight drew closer.

"Aye," Tor nodded.

"A letter of the utmost importance from the Lady Roberta of Brightvale." The courier stated, holding out the envelope, sealed with Brightvale's crest.

_Tor,_

_ I do not know if the rumors have reached the farms, but there has been word from lands distant from our own. They confirm what Dolosuno said of the Assassin's power reaching out, but also that his influence still stands. Uprisings are happening across Neopia, the Lost Desert specifically seems to be getting the brunt of it, and many are apparently seeking help, ours in particular._

_ As I said, these are only rumors that I have heard from traders. I wish to speak to Dolosuno as quickly as possible as find what he knows about this. If his contacts are as good as he claims, he might be able to tell us something useful._

_ I'm sorry to cut off your time with your family, but I ask that you meet me in Meridell so that we can figure this out. If people need our help, it's our obligation to give it, right?_

_Roberta_

…

She was already there when he arrived late in the night, leaning idly against the city gate, conversing quietly with Guardsman Oliver. Both greeted him with smiles, although upon walking deeper into the city, Roberta's faded into a serious frown.

"I'm sorry, you must be tired, but—"

"It's fine," Tor assured her. "How have you been? Your wounds, have they healed?"

She nodded. "Yes, thankfully. I've been grateful for the time of rest as well, as short as it lasted."

Tor hummed thoughtfully. His trip back into the city had given him some time of thought over his companion's letter, what dangers had been implied. If the rumors proved to be true, which soon they would know, then it would be some time before they could have a good rest.

Defenders of the Realm, they had been named by the Faerie Queen Fyora herself. If Neopians, no matter what lands they occupied, were in trouble, then it was their duty to help. It did not only apply to the land between Meridell and Brightvale.

Roberta pulled up her hood and Tor did the same before they ducked into the alleyway.

"We are getting a drink after this, right?" Tor muttered. Roberta smirked in reply and the knight rapped on the door.

….

"I've been expecting you."

A small breath of dry laughter escaped Tor. Of course the master thief had known they would be coming. The job of a thief was to be the eyes and ears of the city, to see everything, hear everything, and know everything. "Then you know why we are here."

Dolosuno nodded, looking at Roberta. "I do. And I can tell you from my own sources that the rumors are true. The assassin… Stonarch, am I correct?" he turned to Tor who nodded once. "Stonarch's influence was widespread, beginning shortly after the Dark One's defeat. It was mere weeks before he first appeared in the Lost Desert. Sakhmet and Qasala, once peaceful cities, are deteriorating from the inside."

"If Stonarch is gone," Tor said, "Why has it not ended then, as with the werelupes and Ixies?"

"Nobody there is able even to find the peace, or enforce it. Stonarch only gave the weak-minded a simple push in his desired direction, and that was enough. Neopets here, in our lands, are not the same as those of other lands. We seem to have a higher sense of loyalty, if I do say so myself." Dolosuno smirked, sending a pointed glance at Roberta. "With the exception of a few."

His words were loaded; a straight shot at Roberta—her father to be exact, a traitor if there ever was one. From what Tor had heard anyway. Roberta didn't speak of him, nor did she tolerate anyone else speaking of him. And she was seething in her seat just then.

"There is no loyalty stronger than what you see within this guild. Our brotherhood. Traitors are not tolerated here. And yet, we have lost a few of our desert brothers. That says much of what chaos has been created."

The thief picked of his quill and dipped the point into a bottle of ink. "As it would appear that the next move of Neopia's two greatest heroes is to make your way to the desert lands, I will help," he said as he scribbled quickly and elegantly onto a scrap of parchment. "This is a list of my brothers and sisters from Qasala and Sakhmet. When you arrive, begin by seeking out the guild. Learn these names and then burn it. I advise that you act with haste, before things get any worse than they are."

Tor looked over the list.

_Tomos_

_Nabile_

_Peopatra_

_Nene_

_Darim_

"No descriptions?" Roberta questioned.

"I assure you, there will be no need for it." Said the Sly One mysteriously. "Now that I have graciously offered you as much information as I could, I believe that Rory may have some rather valuable maps of the Lost Desert, all at a reasonable price…"

…..

"When do you think we should leave?" Tor questioned over their ale. They sat in the far corner of the pub, away from the other neopets that had gathered in for the night and retained a respectful distance.

Roberta hummed, staring off at the ceiling. "First, we must speak to the Kings of course. You are a knight of course, and an important one. You can't simply walk off. And my uncle may have a heart attack if I were to just disappear. We will need a ship and crew… not much of an issue really. Many trade routes from the Desert to Brightvale. We should try and make the preparations as quickly as possible. Before things escalate even more."

Tor nodded. "A month?"

"At the most."

The knight leaned back in his seat. His took a swig of his ale and smiled. "I did say that I wanted to travel."


End file.
